Fate: Clouded Psyche
by The Distorted Shadow
Summary: Rewrite of "Mysteries Beyond The Fog" After the conclusion of the Fifth Grail War, Rin just wanted to fulfil her promise to help Shirou and investigating his adoption seemed like a reasonable thing to do. But she should have known that things wouldn't be so simple as a new phenomena presents itself in a small town connected to his newfound relatives.
1. Chapter 1

Okay... for everyone who isn't already aware, this fic is a rewrite of a previous work by me, titled "Mysteries Beyond The Fog".

I tried to continue that version but attempting to reread it to get a better feel for it after so long away was painful.

So I decided to rewrite it.

There are a few things that are liable to change between the versions beyond just how it reads.

But anyway, that's all I really have to say about this for now.

If you are interested, I have a Discord Server, with the invite code currently available on my profile page.

Anyway... on with the rewrite.

* * *

*Cling Cling*

Black and White swung in a flurry as a blur of Gold moved to intercept with practiced ease.

The sheer speed and fluidity of the movements was so far beyond human ability that the only word that came close to describing the display was sublime.

Tohsaka Rin however, had long since lost the ability to be awed by such a display.

Once again, she found her face marring into a frown as she watched the two most important people in her life matching each other in armed combat.

Despite Shirou's Skill with a blade, there was always a gap between what he could achieve and what Saber could.

Admittedly, he was far beyond any other human when it came to his own abilities, the mere fact that he could even come close to matching Saber was proof of that.

And that wasn't even the limit of his abilities.

It had taken some time for them to realize that ever since he had fought the Golden Archer, his projections had changed on a fundamental level.

No longer was he using the blueprints stored within his Reality Marble to project his weapons, instead, he was simply dragging them out of his Marble, an action that cost him far less Prana than Projecting them did, with the added benefit that they were far less fragile than Projections.

Another flash of white and Rin noted the nearly imperceptible hole in Shirou's defense, a hole that was immediately taken advantage of by the blond-haired Servant.

*Clink*

She wasn't surprised when the attack was deflected, she had witnessed that exact same hole multiple times, however Saber always fell for it.

Not out of a lack of skill, but rather, out of sheer ingrained habit.

That was one of the two true dangers of Shirou's innate abilities, the ability to understand a blade in complete detail resulted in knowing every little habit that the user had ever formed and exactly how to take advantage of it.

The second true danger of his innate abilities, was his ability to copy the history of a blade and enact it himself.

And enacting that history meant more than just copying the movements… it meant copying the force with which it was swung.

That aspect of Shirou's skill-set had been a surprise, especially given that Archer hadn't used that ability.

Of course, that could have simply been due to Archer not having the ability due to his class, a train of thought that raised the question of what else Shirou was capable of that hadn't been included in Archer's class limitations.

Once again she found her eyes focusing on the spar before her, because now it was about time for Shirou to lose.

After all, while he possessed inhuman abilities, his body was still very much human.

And a human body couldn't handle outputting the might of a servant for long.

She noticed a grimace grace his lips as his stance twitched, a clear sign that his body had reached its limit.

That single flutter was all it took for Saber to capitalize on his state and knock him to the ground, her sword pointed at his throat.

"Yield," Saber's voice was stern as she made that command.

"Ow… I give up," Shirou responded almost immediately, earning a soft smile off the blond servant of the sword in the process.

Rin however, simply considered the chances of him surrendering against a _legitimate _danger.

That brought a frown to her lips.

For all his skill and power, Shirou was the type to push himself past his limits if his foe was dangerous.

Sparring with Saber was a safe space, little more than a way of pushing his abilities and practising his techniques, so there was nothing to lose in surrendering there.

But if the foe was genuinely dangerous, then there was no chance Shirou would be willing to surrender… he'd most certainly choose to push himself until he died in that scenario.

And that was the worrying part.

Shirou had little to no sense of his own personal welfare, instead focusing almost entirely on what others were having to go through instead.

He wouldn't hesitate to throw his life away if it meant saving someone else.

And that was something she found herself unable to accept.

If there was one person who deserved to find happiness in life then it was Emiya Shirou… but he simply wouldn't let himself be happy.

She had promised Archer that she'd help Shirou… but simply figuring out _how _to help Shirou was going to be hard.

The real issue was that despite everyone he knew, he had no real attachments that superseded his urge to save as many people as he could.

Not even she and Saber were too important for him to consider how he'd affect them if he died trying to save someone.

That was probably the part that stung the most.

She knew he cared for her, but it still stung to know that he thought so little of his own life that he believed it would be easy for her to get over his death.

Or more specifically, that he wouldn't even consider her reaction to it in the first place.

Fujimura-sensei didn't seem to do much better either, given how he completely disregarded how she would have reacted if he had been killed because she had been taken hostage by Caster.

Moving over to the currently prone Shirou, she quickly checked him over, noting that his body wasn't too damaged, just a bit strained from the exertion he put on it imitating the strength of Archer.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the time he attempted to copy the strength of Berserker… he'd nearly ripped his own arms right out their sockets with that one.

But as he said, it was a good trump card to have if he ever needed the sheer power to overwhelm a foe quickly.

She still thought simply shooting them with Caladbolg was a better option after witnessing the devastation Archer had caused with it.

Of course, if the enemy was already close enough for him to use Berserker's chunk of rock, then Caladbolg was probably not the best option to choose.

He'd probably outright kill himself in the explosion in that case.

"Thanks Rin," his voice cut through her thoughts.

"It's nothing," she found herself responding automatically.

After all, all she was really doing was making sure he was healthy.

Time seemed to drag on as silence reigned.

Shirou already knew his flaws, meaning Saber had little to actually say to him concerning their spar, meanwhile, she knew she didn't have anything he'd really listen to either given it was all about trying to get him to consider his own life.

He was very stubborn when it came to that topic.

If only he had someone who truly relied on him… who wouldn't be able to manage without his presence.

The issue there was that his family had all died in the Fuyuki fire.

…

Or had they?

She found her curiosity piquing as she considered the matter.

Shirou's adopted father had been a magus who had saved him from the fire and adopted him… but there was no guarantee the adoption was performed under the standard procedures.

Maybe… just maybe, Shirou had family out there that were still alive.

It wouldn't hurt to try and find out.

And she knew exactly who to go to about finding out.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Fujimura Raiga found himself frowning as he looked at the girl that stood before him.

He had seen her hanging around the Emiya Household for a couple of months now and he had decided that she was worth investigating.

Tohsaka Rin.

Heir to the Tohsaka family, owner of several different patents and an estate worth a fortune.

And that was _after _her legal guardian had squandered her heritage outside of his authority.

Because of that, he was already expecting the reason she was here.

She would be asking for his help in regaining what her guardian had given away.

Well, she would have another thing coming if that was the case.

After all, attempting to use Shirou to get to him was not something he was willing to let slide.

"Fujimura-dono," her tone was respectful and he found his eyes narrowing but decided to let her dig her own grave.

"Tohsaka-san," he responded with his voice even, "I was not expecting a visit from someone such as yourself."

"Thank you for agreeing to see me sir," she spoke formally while keeping eye contact with him.

That was something he could respect.

She wasn't a coward that much was for certain.

"Now… what did you wish to speak with me about?" he asked, already more than ready to reject her request.

"Emiya Shirou has recently mentioned something about his adoption that felt… off," she said and he froze, "I have a suspicion his adoption may not have been performed via the official channels and was wondering if you could confirm he has no living relatives for me."

That… that was not what he was expecting to hear from the girl.

He had expected her to attempt to convince him to look over her accounts and help her retrieve what was rightfully hers.

But instead, she came to him to ask him to investigate _Shirou__'s adoption records._

The worst part was that he could easily believe what she was saying.

Kiritsugu had been an incredibly skilled man who followed his own code no matter what… but he was still a mercenary and engulfed in the darkest corners of the world.

The idea that the man had used his resources to adopt a kid to ease his own conscious wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

However, there was one thing he really wanted to know.

"And why have you decided to come to me with this?"

She snorted in amusement at his question.

"I'm sure you know Shirou well enough to know that if he saw someone about to get run over by a bus, he'd throw himself in the way without a second thought," she stated bluntly and he grimaced in response.

He was well aware of his surrogate grandson's tendencies to throw himself into dangerous situations without considering the consequences.

"And what does that have to do with this?" he decided to ask for clarification.

As much as he was aware of that trait of Shirou's, he didn't know why it mattered in this situation.

"It's simple… perhaps if he had a family related by blood, he might be more willing to consider himself before making stupid choices like that," her tone sounded like she didn't buy it herself, but at the same time, he could see it in her eyes.

It wasn't that she was using it as an excuse.

She was genuinely desperate to find some way to get Shirou to look after himself.

"Heh… heh… hehehe…" he couldn't stop a chuckle from rising from his stomach, "so you are hoping that by finding out he has blood family, you can blackmail him into taking better care of himself?"

"Hoping, yes… expecting… not so much," she acknowledged and he found his chuckle progressing into full blown laughter.

He noted the way her face was currently frowning and her eyebrow twitching.

Clearly his laughter wasn't something she was particularly happy with.

"Very well, I will investigate Shirou's adoption records," he admitted without delay, causing the girl to visibly blink and her expression to ease up in surprise.

"R-really?" she sounded like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "just like that?"

"Just like that," he admitted.

He could see a tension release from the girls body as he told her that.

He briefly considered letting her know of what he had expected her to ask for, but decided that it was better to leave that out.

If she wanted help with that, then she would have to do more to prove she wasn't in this _just _to get close to his organisation.

"Thank you Fujimura-dono," she said with a grateful bow.

"Feel free to simply call me Raiga," his comment seemed to catch her off guard, but she quickly recovered.

"I… think I'll stick with Fujimura-dono… calling you that feels a bit too… close, too quick," she responded, prompting him to release a snort of amusement.

"Suit yourself," he said before giving her one last look, "is that all you are here for today?"

"Yes, thank you Fujimura-dono," once again, she gave him a grateful bow before being dismissed.

He wondered just how long she was going to stay with Shirou.

Because she seemed like a somewhat decent girl so far.

Shaking his head clear, Raiga immediately prepared to organise the investigation.

It was time to find out if Shirou was truly left with no family or not.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou could do little more than focus on Saber's Noble Phantasm.

It was one of only two weapons he had seen that was beyond his ability to fully understand, though it was at least mostly comprehensible, unlike Gilgamesh's Ea.

But it was still hard to get a full image of the blade, the fact that it was of Fae origin made it very difficult to understand parts of it that defied traditional understanding.

He was sure he could at least get a somewhat decent imitation, but it was nowhere near as easy as any other Noble Phantasm he had seen during the Grail War… even the ones he had only briefly glimpsed in Archer's Unlimited Blade Works and fired from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon had been effortless to record.

The fact that they had been recorded automatically was proof of that.

But Saber's blade was different.

Sure, there was an imitation of it contained within his Reality Marble now, but the degradation between the real and the fake dwarfed the degradation between the real and fakes of any other blade copied into his marble.

Despite all of that, he had everything he needed to stand his ground against Saber in a spar.

Namely, the history of Excalibur's use.

Knowing all of Saber's ingrained habits and exactly how to exploit them was a wonder in and of itself, though he was certain the only reason he did as well against her was because of how much he had accessed the knowledge.

He was still just a beginner with his Marble after all and while accessing it was possible, it was an action he had to consciously perform.

However, practising against Saber so often and mimicking Archer's Strength let him stand against her for far longer than any other human probably could.

He was also certain that his muscles were growing used to the strain he was now putting on them, either that or that his attempts at reinforcing them to withstand the force were improving with practice.

Leaving an opening he knew her habits would automatically aim for, he already prepared his defence and counter attack, ready for the strike to launch itself at him.

He found himself blindsided when a fist launched itself at his face and he was forced to dodge in a way he hadn't expected to have to.

"What?" the question left his lips before he could do anything else, then he found his legs knocked out from under him and a sword pointed at his throat as he lay on the dojo floor.

"Did you honestly expect me to fall for that every time?" Saber's voice sounded somewhat amused as she asked him that question and he found a small smile gracing his face.

"It's your habit," he responded without delay, "I would've thought it would take a bit more work to overcome it."

He knew she understood why he was surprised, they had sparred quite a bit since the end of the Grail War and she had a series of habits ingrained into her being that he had grown accustomed to over the sessions.

Clearly he wasn't the only person who was trying to improve.

"There is a reason I am recorded in legend," her words were pretty clear.

Her skill with a blade was legendary for a reason, even if she wasn't necessarily the greatest swordsman of the Round Table.

The blade was removed from his throat and he found his hand being taken by the petite blond who easily helped him back to his feet.

"Thank you for the match Saber," he said as he eased his muscles… it hadn't been quite long enough for the strain to really hit them but there was still an ache present.

The Servant of the Sword shook her head in the negative.

"There is no need to thank me," she said with a small smile gracing her lips, "we both benefit from our spars."

It was clear to him now that she was being honest.

She was strong, that much was for certain.

But beyond that, her skill was nearly peerless, with only minor habits that could be taken advantage of but even then, most normal people wouldn't be able to identify or act upon them.

But he could.

And that meant he was acting as a mirror for her, someone who could show her the flaws in her style and where she could learn to improve.

There wasn't much to improve upon, but if there was anyone who could identify the weaknesses, it was him.

However, despite all of that, there was one thing he had to speak with Saber about.

"Have you noticed anything off about Rin recently?" his question earned a frown from the girl who tended to dress in blue and white.

"She does appear to be preoccupied with something recently."

So it wasn't just his imagination.

Of course, the real question was whether or not she would need help with whatever she was dealing with and more importantly, if she was trying to shoulder the burden on her own.

It wasn't outside the realm of possibility after all.

"What do you think we should do Saber?" he decided to ask the king, after all, it wasn't like the relationship was just him and Rin.

"She doesn't appear to be stressed or agitated… so I feel we should leave it to her for now," the blond declared and Shirou found himself thinking about it.

Saber's summary did sound about right.

Despite whatever was getting to her being noticeable, she seemed more focused than stressed, meaning it likely wasn't something he would have to worry about too much.

"Okay then, but if she gets any worse, I think we should be prepared to intervene," that was the course of action he felt was most appropriate right now.

The nod from Saber said he wasn't the only one to think that.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin couldn't stop herself from feeling a sense of dread welling up inside her.

Looking at the price of the gems she should need to replace the ones she had spent against Caster made it clear to her.

She was in trouble.

If she was just going to go for cheap gems for simple spells, then it wouldn't be a problem, but she was looking to replace top of the line jewels and she did not have much left after the damage Kotomine had inflicted on her estate.

Simply buying enough gems of sufficient quality to replace what she'd lost in the Grail War would wipe out most of her inheritance.

After that, she may very well have to start selling off some of her estate to pay for any more.

That was not a good look to present the Clock Tower even if it was because of her father's mistake in trusting Kotomine.

At least she did have some properties that weren't exactly important, mainly used in the distant past before the railway network, when her ancestors would've had to spend time in different locations to make sure the areas where fully operational.

They could probably be sold without too much notice.

She was pulled from her musings as the phone rang not far from her current location.

"I'll get it," she called out to no-one, Taiga was currently supervising the Archery club now that the student body had mostly returned after the Rider incident, and Shirou and Saber were in the Dojo sparring again.

Picking up the phone she held it straight to her ear before answering.

"Hello, this is the Emiya Residence, Tohsaka speaking, how can I help you?" the mere fact she had said it so often it automatically slipped off her tongue without thinking really did show just how much she had been in the household since the Grail War.

"Ah, excellent, just who I was hoping to speak to," the voice on the other line sounded old and gruff, "this is Fujimura Raiga, I have the results of the investigation."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"And?"

"… Kiritsugu did _not _adopt Shirou via the usual channels," the man sounded uncertain on the other end of the line, "the people that were supposed to raise him in the event of his parents deaths, were his aunt and uncle in the small town of Inaba."

She felt her heart beat faster at that.

Shirou had living relatives.

"As it stands, Shirou currently only has one living blood relative," the man continued, "his cousin, Dojima Nanako… her mother, Shirou's biological aunt, died in a car crash a couple of years ago."

Rin found herself struggling to keep the grin from her face at that information.

"As for Shirou's Uncle…" the Yakuza boss trailed off for a few seconds, "his name is Dojima Ryotaro… a detective for Inaba's Police Department."

Her heart skipped a beat at that.

Police.

Shirou's uncle was a police officer.

That meant that Raiga was unlikely to offer any assistance with the man.

"I see… thank you for your help Fujimura-dono," she responded, "would it be possible for me to pick up the information you collected?"

"Of course Tohsaka-san," the man responded without delay, "I will have someone waiting for you at the gate with the documents ready."

"Thank you once again," she continued.

"It is fine, Shirou is like a grandson to me," that statement brought a small smile to her face.

"In that case, I will let you know if anything else comes up that I might need help with," she said before offering her goodbyes and hanging up.

She now had information to sort through.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

It had been a week since she'd gotten her hands on the folder containing the information she had been looking for.

Hiding it in the workshop she had set up in the Western style bedroom she had used during the Grail War meant that Shirou couldn't come across it until she had already done what she needed to with it.

The main issue was simply getting time alone when she could use the phone without having to worry about Shirou stumbling upon her.

Saber wasn't an issue, even if she noticed what she was doing then it would be easy enough to persuade her to go along with the plan… but Shirou was far less easy to predict on matters like that.

He hadn't hesitated to throw his life away on several occasions during the Grail War and had only survived because of her, Saber and a healthy amount of luck.

So there was no saying how he'd respond to the idea of having living blood relatives.

It was possible he'd be interested in meeting them, but it was just as possible that he'd throw the chance away so he didn't inconvenience them.

But she wasn't going to risk the latter.

Especially since she was intending on getting him to bond with his little cousin.

She shook her head clear of those thoughts.

Shirou had just left to do some grocery shopping, meaning she had the perfect chance to phone the Dojima residence and finally get some contact with Shirou's relatives.

Taking the files out of her workshop, she moved through the dining room, passing Saber who now looked at her with frown clear on her face.

Moving towards the phone, she noted that Saber was now following her, not that it mattered, she wasn't doing anything all that questionable after all.

Putting the file down, she lifted the phone and proceeded to call the number of the Dojima residence, noting that Saber was currently watching her with a frown on her face.

Hearing the ringing, she waited in anticipation.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end of the phone was quiet, uncertain and clearly young, making it perfectly clear who had answered the phone.

"Hello, is that Dojima Nanako?" she already knew the answer, but it didn't hurt to ask regardless.

"Who are you?" the girl sounded a little scared but that was only to be expected, she was the daughter of a detective after all.

"My name is Tohsaka Rin… is your father home right now?" he was the person she was wanting to speak to after all.

"No, he's not home," the voice on the other end responded after a couple of seconds, causing her to deflate.

"In that case, would you please pass a message on to him?" she asked, hoping the girl would have access to something to write with.

"Oh… yeah," the girl sounded uncertain but continued anyway, "let me get some paper."

"Of course," she allowed the girl to rustle in the background.

"Okay," the girls voice trailed off, prompting Rin to start instructing the girl on what to leave for her father.

Eventually she noted the sound of a door opening over the phone before a call sounded over it.

"Nanako, I'm back!"

"Dad! There's someone on the phone for you."

Rin found herself smiling at that, it seemed she wouldn't have to try and hide the contents of the phone-call from Shirou after all.

"Thank you Nanako," the voice was a combination of gruff yet soft, clearly the man was tough but was softening his voice to speak with his daughter, "hello, this is Dojima speaking, who is this?"

The way his tone went from soft to no-nonsense was something she could respect.

"Dojima-san, my name is Tohsaka Rin," she started out formally before continuing, "I have recently conducted an investigation into a certain individual by the name of Emiya Shirou."

"What does this have to do with me?" the man on the other side asked bluntly.

Now it was make or break time.

"Emiya is not his birth name, but his name by adoption," she declared firmly, "an adoption that was performed outside of the usual channels."

"Get to the point," the man demanded bluntly.

"… Emiya Shirou is most likely your late wifes nephew."

"…"

Silence reigned on the other side of the phone.

She took that as a sign that she could continue.

"He was orphaned in the fire that burned down several blocks of Fuyuki City ten years ago, he never entered into the standard adoption procedures, meaning he was likely never mentioned to your late wife," she explained, hoping the man would buy into it.

Looking in Saber's direction, she noted the Servant of the Sword clenching her fist in obvious anger.

It was yet another crime Saber would add to her list of reasons to despise the man named Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Dojima-san, are you still there?" she proceeded to ask, before hearing a few deep breaths from the other side of the speaker.

"I'll need to see the evidence if I am to believe you," he declared firmly.

"Of course, would you like me to send it to the Inaba Police Department?" she had a feeling the man wouldn't want strange packages being delivered straight to his house after all.

"Yes, that's the best place for it," the man was clearly not expecting her to try anything funny with the package, either that or he hoped she would assume his lack of comment about it meant he was letting his guard down.

It didn't really matter to her, she was being completely honest in her intentions.

"I'll be certain to do that then… I hope to speak to you again soon Dojima-san."

And after hearing the detective's own farewell, she put the phone back on the receiver before looking at Saber.

"You went behind our back to investigate Shirou's past," Saber's voice held no inflection.

"Yes," she had no hesitation as she made that admission.

"Why?" Saber's frown said it all, she was certainly disappointed with her decision to hide what she was doing.

"How do you think Shirou would have reacted if he found out I was looking into his past?"

Saber's frown deepened as she seemed to think about it for several seconds.

"I… am unsure."

"That's why I hid it," she stated firmly, "I didn't want to risk Shirou derailing it if he decided to be stubborn again."

"Surely if he has relatives, it should be his decision to speak with them," Saber's statement was clear and firm.

"Saber, I decided to look into Shirou's history because I wanted to see if there was anything I could use to make him stop and think for even a second instead of immediately throwing himself into something that could kill him," she wasn't going to lie to Saber about this.

Given the way Saber released a tired sigh, she was sure she had gotten through to the blond.

"So you wanted to find his family to use them as blackmail to make him take care of himself?" Saber summarised and she found herself letting out a dry chuckle.

"Well, I doubt it will stop him from being reckless," she admitted, "but if doing this can get him to think a little more, then I'm willing to try it."

Silence reigned before her Servant spoke up once again.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just keep quiet about this until I'm ready," she told her easily, "I want to make sure his uncle is willing to let him into his life before going any further."

"Very well Rin."

Now it was just a matter of mailing the documents and waiting for Dojima's reply.

* * *

And that is all for now.

I have written a good chunk of the next chapter, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to get out.

If you would like the option of reading it a few days before posting and have some input on issues noticed etc then I usually link completed chapters on my Discord Server for that purpose.

Anyway... Shadow Out.


	2. Chapter 2

And I'm back.

Took a bit longer than I wanted to get this chapter finished but here it is.

Anyway, I will once again mention that I've got a discord server where I tend to talk about whatever I feel like, including stuff concerning the future of my fics... but that's all I will really say now.

So on with the fic.

* * *

Dojima Ryotaro could do little more than release a sigh as he finished looking over the documents Tohsaka Rin had sent him.

Everything about it checked out though he was left with the question of exactly _how_ this Emiya Kiritsugu person had managed to do what he had done.

But that was for another time.

A nephew he had long since believed dead was alive and living in Fuyuki City.

He just regretted that his wife wasn't alive to hear the news.

She had been torn apart when she heard that her sister, brother-in-law and nephew had died in a fire ten years ago, so finding out that one of them had survived would have been a dream come true for her.

But the news was a few years too late.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts of his wife. Remembering her only brought back the pain of not being able to solve the case surrounding the driver that ran her over.

Some detective he was.

Not even able to catch Chisato's killer.

Pulling out one certain piece of information, he looked over the phone number the Tohsaka girl had given him.

He was confident from her voice that she wasn't that old, honestly if it wasn't for the fact that she knew who he was and more specifically, about his connection to the great fire in Fuyuki City, then he'd have likely dismissed it as a prank call.

But not only had she possessed legitimate knowledge about his family, but she had also done exactly as she said she would and mailed him the documents concerning the adoption of his nephew.

And all of his checks showed that it was genuine.

Picking up his phone, he found himself hesitating.

He didn't have the best relationship with his daughter, he loved her but he found it hard to connect with her.

She was just too much like her mother.

But was it right to bring another relative into his life when he himself was already struggling with connecting with his family?

Then again, he and this Shirou boy weren't related by blood… it was Nanako who shared the same blood as the boy.

But he would be much older than her… would they be able to bond?

Releasing a sigh, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

If they couldn't then they couldn't, it wasn't wrong to give them the chance.

Dialling the phone number given to him by the Tohsaka girl, he waited with baited breath as the phone rang for what felt like an eternity.

"Hello this is the Emiya Residence, Tohsaka speaking," he found himself blinking at that answer.

She hadn't told him she had given the phone number to his Nephew's home… just that she could usually be contacted there.

It raised the question of exactly what her connection to his nephew was.

"This is Dojima Ryotaro," he decided to ignore the questions rising in his head for now, "I received the files you sent me."

"And?"

"… I want to speak with my nephew," it was a simple statement but he found himself struggling to keep his tone even.

"I understand Dojima-san," the voice on the other side sounded… relieved? "Shirou! It's for you!"

He found his frown growing at the casual call before noting a quiet voice, clearly far away respond.

"I'm a little busy making dinner."

"That's fine, I'll take over, just come here already!"

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" a third voice that sounded far more hyperactive than the rest of them, "Shirou is busy cooking! They'll just have to wait!"

That… wasn't a good thing to hear.

"As I said, I'll take over, this is more important," Tohsaka's voice was quieter now, likely with her moving to take over from his nephew.

He heard some more noises in the background as the voices grew too quiet for him to hear, they were clearly a good distance from the phone if that was the case.

Eventually though he heard a small knocking before the voice of his nephew spoke to him for the first time since the fire.

"Hello? This is Emiya Shirou, who is calling?"

Taking a deep breath, he answered honestly.

"My name is Dojima Ryotaro… and according to the information that Tohsaka-san managed to dig up…" he found himself hesitating but quickly pushed that aside, "your uncle."

Silence reigned on the other side of the speaker before he heard a barely whispered _'so that's what she was up to'_.

That only made his frown deepen.

"Are you telling me you didn't know that she was investigating your adoption records?" if that was true, then that raised the question of _why _she was looking into his past.

Beyond that, the fact that she was currently located at his house only made the picture being painted even harder to understand.

"Yeah, I have no idea what gave her the idea of doing that," the boy on the other end admitted, "… so… what evidence is there?"

"… enough to convince me it's true," he declared as easily as he could, "and I work as a detective."

"I see," the boy sounded uncertain and he wondered if he was already going to lose the connection before it even started, "sorry… I… I was just sure I was an orphan."

"According to the files Tohsaka-san sent me, the man who adopted you did so outside of the usual systems," the tried to be as diplomatic as he could be concerning the matter, it was possible the boy viewed his adoptive father as a legitimate father figure after all.

"So you're saying Kiritsugu adopted me illegally," the boy cut right to the chase, prompting him to release a grimace at the potential for this to go horribly wrong.

"I am saying that he adopted you outside of the official channels and that if you had been put through them, you wouldn't have been put with him," he didn't want to give Shirou the image he was trying to disrespect the man for his actions.

After all, he didn't know what this Emiya Kiritsugu figure was thinking when he decided to adopt the kid outside the usual channels.

For all he knew, the man may have simply wanted to give Shirou a roof over his head as quickly as possible.

He found his heartbeat slowly accelerating as the silence dragged on.

"Sorry, but… could you give me some time to think this over?" the boy on the other side of the phone asked, clearly sounding uncertain as to what to think right now.

"Yeah… Tohsaka-san has my phone number if you ever feel like calling," he decided to make it clear that he was willing to speak with him.

"Thank you… goodbye for now Dojima-san," and with that the boy hung up on him.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou could do little more than stare as he processed the information he had just leaned.

To think that Rin had gone behind his back and investigated his past without telling him.

Regardless of that, there was the issue that struck him.

Apparently Kiritsugu had gone outside the law to adopt him, probably by using Hypnosis on the people responsible for it.

But did he really care about that?

Kiritsugu was his father whether he was supposed to be or not, and he knew the man well enough to realize he likely didn't have any nefarious intentions when he made the decision to adopt him.

Or at least, that's what he hoped.

Saber had a few stories about her time working with his father and none of them were particularly pleasant to hear.

Especially not the story about the defeat of Lancer.

Despite that, he found himself steeling himself and making his way back to the living room, he still had a meal to finish preparing and Fuji-nee would likely want to know what was so important he had to leave the cooking.

Upon entering the room, he noted the confusion currently playing across Fuji-nee's face, as well as the stoic expression adorned by the blond servant as she waited for the meal to be served.

But his attention turned towards the girl in red that was currently keeping an eye on the food he had been in the middle of preparing.

"Rin… why?" it was all he could manage to ask her causing Fuji-nee's confusion to grow.

"What you said about your adoption sounded like something was wrong," she explained, "so I asked Fujimura Raiga to look into the matter."

Wait, Gramps was responsible for getting the information?

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Fuji-nee sounded completely lost by the conversation.

"But why hide it from me?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Because you can be stupid and stubborn," she claimed without hesitation, "can you honestly say you wouldn't have tried to stop the investigation to stop anyone being inconvenienced?"

He found himself freezing at that question.

He honestly didn't know how he would've reacted in that situation.

"Hold on! Just what is going on here?!" Fuji-nee was definitely getting annoyed by being left out of the conversation, "what was that phone call about?!"

"… it was my uncle," Shirou decided to state bluntly.

He noted the lack of surprise on Saber's face, meaning she was likely already aware of the matter.

"Y-y-your uncle?!" Fuji-nee's reaction however showed she had clearly been kept out of the loop by Raiga, "b-but if you have an uncle, why wasn't he looking after you?!"

"Because Shirou's adopted father went outside the legal system to ensure he adopted him," Rin informed the woman without hesitation.

That piece of information made Taiga freeze.

"B-but Kiri wouldn't do something like that!" she was clearly in denial.

It wasn't surprising, the only reason he wasn't in denial of the matter was because he already had an idea that his father had done things he regretted and kept secret.

"Well, I wasn't the one who found the evidence," Rin stated dismissively, "if you don't believe it, you can always go to your grandfather and ask about it yourself."

That seemed to deflate the English Teacher.

"B-but…" she really seemed put off by that response.

"We can talk about it later," he finally decided to push the conversation to the side, "dinner should be ready soon."

The mere fact that Fuji-nee wasn't crying out happily at the prospect of food was enough to let him know how much this conversation had shaken her.

However, the uncharacteristic quietness she was displaying gave him a chance to think in peace.

After the fire, he had never considered the possibility of having any living relatives left, he had simply been adopted by Kiritsugu and assumed that they had all died in the catastrophe.

Now he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

He had been without them for ten years now… and simply forcing himself into their lives felt wrong.

But he didn't want to push them away either.

Eventually the meal was ready and everyone was seated around the table in what had become a daily ritual for them.

"So…" the voice of Taiga spoke in a much softer tone than he was used to, "what are you going to do now?"

"I… don't know," it was all he could say in response to that question, it wasn't like he had any idea of what he could do about any of it now.

"I have a suggestion," he found himself immediately drawn towards Rin once again, "I've already checked, and my family had a summer home in the town Shirou's Uncle lives… it is still owned under my name… so we could move there for the last year of our education without too much difficulty."

He couldn't stop himself from frowning at that thought.

The idea of moving was certainly not something he was too fond of, but the chance to get to meet his family without having to impose himself on them was tempting.

But it would also likely mean leaving Taiga to fend for herself.

"B-but Shirou…" his surrogate sister was clearly not happy with the idea that he might move away.

"It would only be for a year," Rin continued, "plus, do you really want to get in the way of Shirou connecting with his family?"

"T-that-"

"I mean, that would be selfish and cruel," Rin cut her off without dropping her perfectly amicable demeanor, "why, I don't think any teacher would be so callous as to stop their student from seeing their family just because they want to be fed… that's practically enslavement."

"T-that's-"

"And I know you wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to turn someone as kind and considerate as Shirou into a slave," Rin continued, intentionally ignoring any attempts Taiga made to cut in.

"… F-fine…" he could see Fuji-nee practically deflate as she gave in, "but only if you have a responsible adult go with you!"

"Well… that immediately discounts you," Shirou found himself saying before he could stop himself.

"Shirou!" the English teacher cried out in betrayal… all the while both Rin and Saber nodded in agreement.

"Honestly Fujimura-sensei," Rin said without delay, "anyone who has spent any length of time here knows that Shirou is the responsible one of you."

"Would Saber count?" Shirou decided to try and reason with the hyperactive woman.

"Of course," Fuji-nee responded without hesitation.

It was the best situation as far as he was concerned.

Saber knew everything they might have to hide anyway, plus she was part of their relationship even if Fuji-nee was ignorant of that piece of information.

"Great, then I'll see Raiga-san about dealing with the paperwork," Rin stated with a cheery tone even as she rose from her seat and moved towards the hallway.

Shirou felt like calling out to her, saying that he hadn't made up his mind yet.

But he knew she would just proceed to say something that would result in the same outcome.

Maybe it was best if he just gave in and accepted she was going to arrange their transfer no matter what he said.

It would definitely avoid a headache.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima could do little more than watch the television as he thought about the awkward conversation he had just had with his newly discovered nephew.

He hoped he hadn't inadvertently pushed him away forever.

At least if he had, he had held off on letting Nanako know about him yet… so she hopefully wouldn't know that Shirou was avoiding them.

He found his head falling forward as the tiredness of going through the documents Tohsaka had sent him got to him.

Then the phone rang, prompting him back to awareness.

Looking over, he noted that Nanako had already risen and made her way towards the phone, answering it without hesitation.

"Hello?" she sounded unsure, "yeah… dad, it's for you."

He idly thanked her for bringing him the phone, he was tired and standing up required a bit more effort than he would have liked.

"Hello?" he said the moment the phone reached his ear.

"Hello Dojima-san," a voice he had heard not that long ago spoke over the phone.

"Tohsaka-san," he responded, wondering just why she was phoning him so soon after he spoke with Shirou, "to what do I owe the pleasure of speaking with you again?"

"We have all discussed it," her voice sounded confident, "and we've decided we'll move to Inaba for our last year in school."

"Wait… what?" he found himself shocked by the speed of that decision… though there was a problem, "sorry, but even if you want to move here, I've already agreed to look after another nephew of mine while his parents are abroad for work."

"That's fine," she was completely unfazed by his statement, "my family has owned a house in Inaba for generations, we were planning on moving there anyway, we don't want to impose on you too much after all."

He felt a sense of relief at that.

But at the same time, he had to ask one pertinent question.

"So… what is your relationship with Shirou?"

Silence reigned across the phone for several seconds before he heard a sigh.

"We…" she seemed to hesitate before continuing, "we are romantically involved."

He considered her demeanor as she made that statement.

She was definitely nervous, but that could easily be because he was Shirou's uncle, for someone who's adopted father was currently dead and apparently didn't have any other father figures, it was obvious she hadn't had to worry about the approval of a male authority figure in her boyfriends life before.

"I see," he decided to simply accept it.

He wasn't in any position to interfere with their relationship… all that attempting to do that would do would be push his nephew away.

This was proving to be far harder than he had expected.

"So I guess I'll see you both before the start of the new school year," he said, "do you have an adult to supervise you? Because I think the school will likely require that."

"Yes, we've got an acquaintance of Shirou's adopted father to fill that role," she responded and he felt himself frowning in response to that.

"What about your parents?" he asked.

"I was orphaned not long after the Fuyuki fire," she stated with a melancholy tone.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he said in response.

"It's fine."

"Well… do you need any help with travel arrangements?" he asked.

"It's fine, we'll be able to make it on our own," she responded without any hint of doubt in her tone, then again, he was getting the impression that she was a rather independent individual.

"Okay then," he decided to simply accept her declaration, "I'll see you both soon then."

"Goodbye Dojima-san."

"Goodbye Tohsaka-san."

And with that, he hung up.

"What was that about dad?" Nanako's voice cut in, clearly she was confused given she had only head his side of the conversation.

"I guess, you're going to be meeting two cousins soon," was all he said before deciding he was too tired to stay up any longer, "now, it's time for you to go to bed."

He needed his sleep dammit.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Mitsuzuri Ayako took deep and controlled breaths as she finished her sets.

She could feel her arm aching from the effort needed to draw the bow despite it being nowhere near a real historical bow that would've been used on the battlefield.

Looking at her targets, she found herself inwardly cursing.

Two of her arrows had missed the bullseye.

That was two more less than perfect shots than Shirou had been capable of when he had still been a member of the archery club.

She still felt like cursing Shinji for driving him away.

Even now, she was barely catching up to the level Shirou had _started _at and was now considered one of the better archers in the country.

If Shirou had remained in the sport, he'd have likely been recorded in the history books as one of the greatest professional archers in history.

Shaking her head clear of her lamentations, she turned to face the area behind her.

She wasn't surprised to see another figure sitting behind her.

"Hey there Rin," she called out as she noted the two cups of tea currently placed next to the girl that was considered the Idol of Homurahara.

"Hello Ayako," she had to freeze at the tone of Rin's voice.

She sounded almost… _nervous_.

Moving to take her usual seat next to her, she picked up the cup of tea closest to her before speaking again.

"What's wrong?" she asked, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

The black haired girl took a deep breath before clearly readying herself.

"I am going to be moving out of Fuyuki," that statement took a few seconds to sink in.

"I see… is that all?" she doubted Rin was nervous about simply telling her that she was moving.

"Not… entirely…" the grimace that graced Rin's face only made her more concerned.

"Don't tell me you've gotten involved with the Yakuza or something?" she asked semi-jokingly.

"Uh…" oh… oh shit.

"Rin… if you're in trouble with the Yakuza then you should be running instead of speaking to me," she told her, wondering why she wasn't doing that already.

"I'm not in trouble with them," Rin stated bluntly, her expression practically asking if she was stupid.

"Then why did you refuse to say you aren't involved with them?" she found herself asking with narrowed eyes.

"… you do know that Fujimura-sensei is the granddaughter of the current head of the local Yakuza… and Shirou's next-door neighbor don't you?" Rin's question was asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ayako however, found herself freezing.

"What?"

Rin was saying that Fujimura Taiga was a member of a Yakuza family while Shirou… wait just a minute.

"Shirou?"

Why was Rin calling him by his given name?

"That's… the other thing…" Rin was now definitely hesitating.

She remembered hearing some rumors that Shirou and Rin had been seen around town with some blond girl no one knew but she had always dismissed those rumors… but if Rin's current attitude was anything to go by…

"Are you telling me that you and Shirou have hooked up and are eloping?!" she practically screamed in disbelief… though she couldn't manage to make her voice all that loud.

"… that's where the Yakuza come in," Rin admitted, "I got them to look into Shirou's past and they discovered he has living relatives outside Fuyuki… we're moving to get to know them."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," Rin's face held no amusement as she made hat admission.

"… well…" that was all she could really say, "I guess I lost our contest."

Now she got a chuckle off her friend.

"Still… kind of sucks you got Shirou," she said, causing Rin to raise an eyebrow, "it means he's off the market."

That got a smirk off the other girl.

"Oh? Does that mean you wanted him yourself?"

"It isn't like he's got much competition here," she responded without delay, earning a softer smile off the darker haired girl.

"Yeah…" and with that, Rin brought her tea up to her lips, an action Ayako soon copied herself.

It would be strange without Rin or Shirou… but at least Shinji was more tolerable since his accident so at least she wouldn't have to worry about that asshole for a while.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Ryuudou Issei couldn't stop himself from releasing a relieved sigh as Emiya finished fixing yet another heater.

He was certain the school would have fallen to pieces by now if it wasn't for the unrelentingly helpful red-head.

It was just a shame he never asked for anything in return, if he did then he could at least try to get the boy something for his trouble.

But as it was, Emiya always dismissed helping out as its own reward.

It was genuinely frustrating.

"Thank you for your help today Emiya," he decided to give his usual thanks, it may not have been much but at least it let Emiya know he appreciated the help.

"It isn't a problem," the red-head responded without a moments hesitation, "besides… I have something to tell you."

He felt his throat dry at that as his mind returned to the time Emiya had told him to remove his clothes.

"What is it Emiya?" he decided to ask in as even a tone as possible.

"I'm going to be moving out of Fuyuki for my last year," he froze.

Emiya was moving?

"May I ask why?" he honestly couldn't think of any reason Emiya had to leave Fuyuki.

"… well, Rin decided to investigate my adoption records," his old friend said and he found himself frowning in response, "she discovered I have living relatives in a country town… so we're going to be moving there for the year."

"I… I'm sorry, could you please repeat that Emiya?" what he thought he heard couldn't be possible, it was preposterous after all… the idea of Emiya mentioning _Tohsaka _by her given name.

"… I said that I have living relatives," the red-head repeated.

"I meant before that," he clarified, earning a grimace from the helpful boy.

"… Rin investigated my adoption records."

"Rin who?" he needed to clarify, it was entirely possible Emiya was talking about someone else, that had to be the case after all… there was no way Emiya would fall into the clutches of Tohsaka.

"Tohsaka," he didn't know what to think, "… we've… well…"

Emiya definitely sounded nervous.

"Emiya, what is going on?" he couldn't stop himself from asking, "why are you mentioning that witch?"

"Rin isn't that bad," he couldn't believe what he was hearing from the boy's mouth.

"Don't tell me you've fallen into her deception?" he found himself rubbing his forehead, he had always thought Emiya was too smart for that.

"No," Emiya's response was said bluntly, his face a blank mask that practically screamed 'don't be stupid'.

It was strange to see that expression on Emiya's face concerning anything not Fujimura-sensei related.

"Then why are you defending her?" he just had to ask.

"Because I know who she is under the 'perfect student' thing she shows the school," Emiya's voice was level and indicated he genuinely believed what he was saying.

"And who is she under that deception?" if Emiya was genuine about that, then it was a prime opportunity to finally figure out why he couldn't stand her.

Emiya however, simply shook his head before responding.

"You could have simply tried to get to know her yourself instead of treating her like a villain all the time," he felt almost like Emiya had stabbed him with that one.

Tohsaka was known to be a Christian, one who was raised by the local priest who had died in a fire not that long ago, there was no reason for them to interact when he was being raised as a traditional monk.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd simply felt that there was something off about the girl… that the front she presented to the school was hiding something darker.

"I'm sorry Emiya, but I simply cannot trust her," he simply had to admit it, "and I don't think associating with her is a good idea."

"That's your choice," Emiya's voice was flat, "but mine is to trust her."

It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to deter his old friend from making a massive mistake… still, there was at least a silver lining to the matter.

"Well… I suppose that you're at least moving away from her influence," he decided that that was a reasonable defence for the red-head.

"Issei… Rin is moving with me," he felt his throat turn dry at that.

"W-what?" he couldn't stop himself, "w-why is she moving with you?!"

His suspicions were now rising and he found himself praying that he was wrong.

"Well… we have been living together for a while now."

His heart skipped a beat.

Emiya and Tohsaka were _Living Together_?!

And had apparently been doing so for a while at that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he wondered aloud.

"Ah… well… me and Rin both agreed it was probably better to keep quiet about it," Emiya stated while rubbing the back of his head.

"May I ask… just how close are you and Tohsaka?" everything was indicating that the two were quite possibly in a _romantic _relationship with each other… but he couldn't be completely certain that Emiya wasn't just giving her somewhere to stay for some reason and she decided to repay him.

"Well… we've been on a few dates," he couldn't believe his ears.

"And you are already living together?" that seemed a bit too fast.

"Well, she actually moved in before our first date," he found himself blinking at that admission, "we just… I guess we just ended up enjoying each others company."

The way Shirou said that made it clear he was holding back something.

But he paused in his questioning.

He may have been Emiya's best friend, but did he really have the right to try and get in his way?

As much as he hated to admit it, if Emiya had been living with Tohsaka for a while, he was liable to have seen her act crack… and while he knew Shirou was one of the few people who could tolerate Matou Shinji of all people, he doubted his friend would fall for a deception for so long.

"I see," he said after exhaling tiredly, "I still don't agree with your decision… but I hope you're right about her."

He really didn't want Emiya to be broken through her actions after all.

He deserved better.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from releasing a tired sigh as he returned home after helping out around school.

Issei had taken the news that he was with Rin a little better than he had expected.

Though he was certain it was mainly because of how the information was drip-fed to him instead of coming in in a single wave.

It still wasn't close to easy.

"I'm home!" he called out in what had practically become a ritual since the end of the Grail War.

"Welcome home Shirou," the voice of Saber cut in just as it normally did as he moved through the hallway and into the living room, noting that Saber was currently sitting in her usual place at the table while Rin wasn't far away, sitting at the table with a smile on her face and her eyes closed.

"Shirou," Rin's voice held a tone of finality that he knew meant she had a plan that she was not going to let him get out of.

"Hello Rin," he decided to just be pleasant and wait for her to tell him what she was planning.

"Do you have work tomorrow?" her question caught him by surprise but he simply frowned before shaking his head.

"No, why?"

"Great, in that case, we can go and visit my house in Inaba without worrying about that," her voice was perfectly pleasant as she made that declaration.

"Oh, I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out before moving there," he acknowledged before frowning, "but if we're going to be visiting then we should probably get an early night… it is a long trip."

About two to three hours by train from what he had looked up.

"Yeah…" Rin didn't sound too enthusiastic about that, but then again, if they were going to have an early night, Fuji-nee would likely still be around, meaning they couldn't partake in their usual late night activities.

Well, one night without it wouldn't hurt too much.

"Well, I guess I'll get dinner ready," he said while putting that out of his mind, early night meant an early dinner.

He just hoped Fuji-nee wouldn't be too upset with that.

* * *

And that's all for now.

Shadow out.


	3. Chapter 3

And I'm back.

Anyway... I'm putting this next part like this just to make sure everyone is aware.

I have a Discord Server for anyone interested in discussing anything with me.

The Invite Code is:

VAg566W

This is also available on my profile page.

Now, that is all for now, let's get on with the fic.

* * *

Awareness came slowly as Shirou's consciousness returned to him.

He was definitely in his room but there was something off.

There was a distinct lack of warmth that he had gotten used to over the last couple of months since the Grail War.

Rising from his futon, he found himself releasing a small yawn as he started stretching.

The kinks in his muscles from his slumber quickly loosened up, then again, he had probably slept a little longer than he normally did due to the early night and lack of pre-sleep activities with Rin and Saber.

He actually couldn't remember the last time he'd slept as much as he had that night.

Shaking his head clear, he proceeded to get dressed in clothes that would do for whatever weather was liable to strike during the day before leaving his room and making his way to the living room.

His house was quiet but that wasn't unusual this early in the morning… the only other person who would be awake to make noise at this time of the day would be Saber and she was quiet at the best of times.

Opening the door to the living room, he found himself unsurprised to see the petite blond already sitting at the table with her usual regal air surrounding her.

"Good morning Saber," he spoke softly as he made his way straight to the kitchen.

"Good morning Shirou," her response was also spoken softly, "did you have a good night?"

"Well… I got a bit more sleep than usual if that's what you're asking," he said with a hint of amusement in his tone as he gave her a glance.

The blush that started to brighten up her face said everything.

Returning his attention to the kitchen, he quietly started preparations for breakfast, not that he was going to make anything fancy, they would have to get an early train if they wanted to have a good look at Inaba that day.

Time passed by peacefully as he continued making breakfast, Fuji-nee would probably be annoyed at the lacklustre array of food he was making, but she would probably be more annoyed that he wouldn't be there to cook for her later.

He silently considered asking Saber to go and wake up Rin, but quickly dismissed that thought.

It wouldn't surprise him if Rin simply dragged Saber into bed with her at this time of the day.

She would probably attempt that with him, but he had come to learn that Saber was worse than he was at refusing Rin.

"Saber, can you keep an eye on the food while I get Rin?" he asked the blond servant.

"Of course," without a second of hesitation, she proceeded to stand from her seated position and take a position to look over the food he was still in the process of making.

"Thank you," and with that, he proceeded to make his way to the Western Style Room Rin had commandeered during the Grail War before converting into a makeshift workshop.

Reaching the door, he proceeded to knock on it before turning the handle and pushing the door open without resistance.

Looking around the room, he noted the desk that currently held several notebooks along with a few ancient tomes he was certain were family texts on magecraft, all the while, a series of clearly cheap gems littered the open space directly in front of the chair.

However, his attention was soon drawn towards the goal of his visit.

Currently draped across the only western style bed in his home, dressed in a dotted yellow set of pyjamas with her hair a fierce mess that flowed around her head without it's usual ties, Rin lay with an uncomfortable expression currently adorning her face.

Moving forward and sitting on the edge of the bed, he put a hand on her head before speaking up.

"Rin, wake up… we've got a long day today."

He noted the way her body seemed to react to that, slowly loosening up before one of her eyes cracked open.

"Shirou?" she sounded tired and uncertain.

"Yeah," he responded softly before noting her arm latch onto his and attempt to drag him under the covers, "Rin, we have to get ready if we're going to catch the train."

"Train?" she sounded confused but he gave her time to remember the plan for the day herself, "oh… we're going to visit Inaba today aren't we?"

"You were the one who decided we were going to do that today," he pointed out, "anyway, breakfast will be ready soon."

He noted the sigh that escaped her lips before she nodded her head.

"Okay," and with that, he felt her let go of his arm before she started to push herself up.

"Anyway, I'm going to go back to the kitchen," he told her as he rose from his seated position, "I'll be sure to have your coffee ready for you."

"Thank you Shirou," her words were soft and he found himself smiling once more before rising from his seat and leaving the room.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Fujimura Taiga wasn't sure what to think as she headed towards the Emiya Residence.

Everything in her life had derailed since Tohsaka had moved into Shirou's house under the pretence that she was having renovations done to her home.

However, it was pretty obvious at this point that that was a lie.

She had no idea what had brought the girl to shove herself into Shirou's life, or what had started the relationship she clearly had with her surrogate brother… but she had overheard comments about Tohsaka's finances from some of her grandfathers _employees_.

She had been nursing a bad feeling about the girl using Shirou to try and get close to her grandfather… but now she really wasn't sure.

From what she had heard, everything Tohsaka had asked for help with were matters concerning Shirou.

She still wasn't happy with Tohsaka making her out to be the villain when it came to Shirou's family.

But from what her Grandfather had told her, Tohsaka was being completely truthful.

It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that Sakura had been too busy to go to Shirou's ever since Shinji's injury… she wasn't prepared to call what he suffered an _Accident_.

She had seen the medical reports… and falling down the stairs did _not _leave a good chunk of a person's nerves charred beyond repair.

It was just one of the many things that didn't make sense to her.

And all of that had started after Tohsaka got involved with Shirou.

She knew something was going on and that Tohsaka was at the centre of it… but exactly _what _that something was, she couldn't even begin to figure out.

Shaking her head clear, she opened the front door to the Emiya Residence.

"Shirou!" she called out as she made her way to the living room.

"Good Morning Fuji-nee," his call was completely expected.

"Good morning Taiga," the calm voice of Saber also piped in.

"Good morning Fujimura-sensei," she had to freeze at the final voice.

Turning to face Tohsaka, she found herself blinking in surprise before looking at the clock.

Tohsaka was clearly dressed for a day-off, meaning she hadn't made a mistake thinking it wasn't a school-day when it was, but she was certain Tohsaka woke up later than everyone else in the house when school wasn't on.

Which raised a simple question.

"You're up early Tohsaka," she said as amicably as she could, noting that Tohsaka was not only out of bed, but had clearly been for a while given she didn't look like an extra from Dawn Of The Dead right now.

"We've got a busy day today Fuji-nee," Shirou's voice called out from the kitchen… causing her attention to turn to him, allowing her to notice that he was currently _washing the dishes_.

"Shirou… where is breakfast?" she asked while feeling a pit form in her stomach.

"I've left some for you in the fridge… it's nothing special but we have a train to catch soon," his response made her blink.

"What do you mean by that?" she hadn't heard anything about a train.

"We're going to visit Inaba today," Tohsaka's voice cut in, "my family hasn't used that house in a while so we need to check it to make sure everything is in order."

She could do little more than stare in response to that.

"And when were you planning on telling me this?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking about that," Shirou's voice responded, "I mean, it is just a day out for us."

She had to release a sigh at that.

As much as she hated to admit it, Shirou and Tohsaka both displayed a maturity that befitted adults… it shouldn't have been a surprise that they made decisions without her input.

"Does Dojima-san know about your visit?" she asked them firmly.

"We haven't mentioned it to him," Shirou's response made her grimace, "but our main reason for visiting is to check out the house."

She considered that statement.

"How long has it been since it was last used?" she found herself asking, according to Tohsaka it was a summer home… so it was likely it was last used before the Fuyuki Fire.

"…" silence reigned at that question.

"How long ago was it last used," she repeated with narrowed eyes and a firm tone.

"… the last time I'm aware of it being used was before…" the girl in red trailed off into a mumble at the last part.

"I didn't catch that."

"… before the railway was built."

"…"

"…"

"WHAT?!"

"I mean, that is the last time I _know_ it was used," the girl continued, clearly attempting to justify what she said, "back then it was necessary to keep an eye on some of our holdings in Inaba… after that it wasn't necessary, so I don't know the last time it was used after that."

"But a house that old should be condemned by now!" she declared, prompting Tohsaka to cross her arms defensively.

"Don't lump my family's properties with normal Japanese homes," she declared bluntly, "my family only built Western Style houses."

"Even they don't last forever! Especially when no one is maintaining them!" she found herself declaring firmly.

"Fuji-nee, calm down," Shirou's voice cut in, "if it isn't habitable then at least we know before it's too late."

She found herself taking deep breaths.

"Exactly, the whole point of this trip is to make sure it's safe to live there," Tohsaka stated seriously, "if it wasn't for the potential of family heirlooms still being there, I'd hire a surveyor to have a look at it."

Taiga found herself blinking at that.

She hadn't considered the possibility of heirlooms.

It did explain why they'd decided to go in person though.

"Anyway, sorry to say this Fuji-nee," Shirou's voice cut in yet again, causing her to notice that he had finished washing the dishes, "but we need to be going if we're to catch our train."

She couldn't stop herself from frowning.

"When will you be back?" she found herself asking.

"We'll probably be home late," Shirou responded easily, "the trip is over two hours each way after all."

"Is that so…" she noted the way not only Shirou and Rin were getting ready to leave, but Saber with them.

Seeing Saber of all people preparing to leave with the two actually made her fist clench.

She respected Saber, the woman was the single most skilled swordswoman she had ever witnessed, but seeing Shirou and Tohsaka choose to share things with the blond they didn't with her made her feel… like she was being replaced.

It was even worse considering what Shirou had said about her not being a 'responsible adult'… but accepting Saber as one.

Watching the group leaving the room with what was clearly empty bags, she couldn't stop herself from feeling like she was being discarded.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore the pang in her heart.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou found himself taking in a deep breath as they stepped off the train at Yasoinaba station, feeling relief as he noted the freshness of the air after having to put up with the stuffy air of an enclosed train for nearly three hours.

"This is nice," Rin's voice sounded next to him, "the air reminds me of the forest surrounding Fuyuki."

His smile dropped.

They had only really gone there to try and get the aid of Illyasviel Von Einzbern to stop Caster… but by the time they had arrived, the Einzbern Mansion had already been demolished and Gilgamesh quickly tore through Herakles and ripped the little girls heart right out of her chest.

She was just another person he had failed to save.

"Shirou…" Saber's voice called out and he noted that she was looking at him with concern in her features while Rin was now looking at him as well.

"Sorry," Rin's voice was sombre, clearly realising what her words had brought up in his mind.

"It's okay," he quickly assured her even as he pushed those memories out of mind, he always knew he couldn't save everyone, "anyway, which way is the house?"

Rin quickly pulled a map out of the coat she was currently wearing, opening it and quickly looking at the current surroundings.

"It should be to the West, just along the River and in a small forest," she said after a few seconds of looking at the sheet and pointing in the general direction they were going to have to move.

"Okay then, let's go and see how it is," he said before making his way to the exit of the station, noting that Saber and Rin were following without hesitation.

"Shirou… when we reach the house, stay back, I don't know what defences are included in the house's bounded fields," her voice was quiet despite the lack of people in the area, but then again, when talking about magecraft related matters it was generally best avoided speaking of them outdoors full stop.

"Okay," he accepted her command without issue, she would be more than capable of entering the house safely given she was the heir to the family that set up the bounded fields in the first place.

Looking at the town they were now wandering through, he noted how peaceful it looked, what with its quaint, Japanese style houses and grassy fields that lined the river.

It definitely lacked the towering backdrop of Fuyuki that dominated the Skyline.

He was certain both Rin and Saber were taking in the sight too, though they were likely being more pragmatic about that than he currently was.

Shaking his head clear, he simply continued walking in the direction Rin had indicated.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin let out a cough as she opened the door to the Tohsaka manor in Inaba and was immediately assaulted by what must have been centuries worth of dust.

Attempting to clear her lungs, she attempted to wave the cloud of dust out of her face as she tried to find somewhere to breathe.

After several minutes of struggling to overcome her assailant, it finally died down and she got her first real look at the inside of the house.

The layer of dust covering everything was so ludicrously thick that it might have been mistaken for snow if it wasn't for the grey tinge that made it stand apart.

She was definitely going to have to get someone to clean the house if it was still in a salvageable condition.

Moving through the entranceway, she found herself looking at the furniture, wondering just how it had handled the situation. Taking a breath, she proceeded to use her hand to wipe some dust off the top of a wooden cabinet, quickly grimacing as she pushed the excessive dirt out of the way to reveal the wood had clearly rotted due to the lack of upkeep.

That would mean she would likely have to purchase new furniture for when they moved in.

But as it stood, the most important thing for her to do was simple.

Moving through the house, she searched for somewhere a suitably valuable gem could be placed, it would likely be used as a nexus for the Bounded Field, so finding it was the first step in shutting down the protections.

She felt a smile tugging at her lips as she looked in the basement and found what looked like an appropriately valuable jewel placed on a pedestal _and _noticeably clear of dust.

Moving over to it, she quickly analysed it before her smile fell.

It was a decoy.

The signs weren't obvious to anyone who wasn't a Tohsaka, but it was clear to her that if she attempted to dismantle the fake spells imbued into it, she would likely receive a face-full of fire.

Turning her attention away from it, she looked around the room before grimacing.

There was nothing that gave away where the real gem might be.

She had to shake her head in disbelief at her current train of thought. She was a Tohsaka and a person couldn't be a competent Tohsaka without knowing a certain set of basic skills.

Activating one of the circuits in her Magic Crest, she proceeded to use a basic skill that Shirou of all people surpassed her in.

Structural Analysis.

There, behind a brick that was mortared in place. Moving towards it, she proceeded to alter the form of the brick, detaching it from the mortar and pulling it free of it's position.

Studying the gem for a few seconds, she found herself smiling at the fact it was the real nexus of the Bounded Fields.

Analysing the array of spells tied to the gem, she found herself considering everything incorporated into the array.

There were several that acted as somewhat violent countermeasures to Magi attempting to break in, others that repelled regular humans and several more that acted in preserving the structure of the house itself.

Those parts made her release a sigh of relief.

With that array incorporated into the Bounded Fields, the house wouldn't need any structural repairs.

The bad part however, was that she'd have to completely dismantle the Bounded Fields in their entirety due to how they were combined together.

Focusing on the crystal, she started dissecting the spells, unravelling them before they reached a point of critical mass, prompting the different spells to start interfering with each other, cascading until they had all proceeded to eliminate each other, leaving the house unguarded for the first time since her family had gotten their hands on it.

Releasing a sigh of relief as she felt the Bounded Fields dissolve, she put the gem in her pocket before returning to the decoy and examining it once again.

She had to release a small chuckle at it slowly becoming inert, clearly so reliant on the Bounded Field to operate that it was useless once the field had been taken down.

Picking up the Gem, she pocketed it as well before making her way back out of the basement and towards the front door.

"This place definitely needs a good clean," she was forced to blink when she noted that Shirou had just entered the house before remembering that he was the one who had been more effective at tracking the Anchors for Rider's Noble Phantasm, identifying that the house's protection were down wouldn't be an issue for him now that he knew what he was looking for.

"That it does," she admitted, "though I don't think any of the furniture will be salvageable."

"Trace On," Shirou's voice spoke up and she noted he was placing his hand against the wall before moving to analyse a cabinet before grimacing, "yeah… the furniture is beyond repair… but at least the house itself is stable."

She let a small smile grace her lips at that.

She expected it to be stable but if Shirou said it was, then there was no doubt it was.

"Though there is no electricity, phoneline or plumbing," he continued and she felt the air escape her lungs.

"I guess that's just more expenses to pay for," she found herself muttering before shaking her head clear, "looks like we've got to clear out everything magecraft related before hiring anyone to fix the place up."

Both Shirou and Saber nodded in acknowledgement and she turned to search the house for anything questionable.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from releasing a sigh as he performed one last check of the house.

He was certain they had managed to catch everything, not that there was a lot to find, it didn't make much sense for a temporary home to be filled with a lot of valuables, especially when it wasn't used often.

But there were still some things that couldn't be left behind.

Satisfied that there was nothing else out of the ordinary left, he made his way back to the entry, noting that Rin and Saber were both already there.

"Did you find anything else?" Rin asked and he shook his head in denial, "good, then that means we can leave the house ready for renovations."

Shirou couldn't stop himself from frowning.

He knew Rin wasn't exactly poor, but her Jewelcraft was ludicrously expensive.

"Are you sure you can afford to pay for that when you have to replace those jewels?" he noted her visibly deflate at his question.

"Shirou… that isn't urgent," she declared to him firmly, "we have plenty of time to do that, your family take priority."

He still felt like a burden.

"Shirou, that is Rin's decision to make," Saber's voice cut in, "she feels that it is more important to prepare this house than it is to rebuild her reserves."

"Besides… it would take a long time to fill them up even if I bought them," Rin said without hesitation, "so spending my money on them is just wasting it when most of them will remain unused for years."

He found himself unable to refute that statement by her.

She had previously let him know just how long it took to fill a gem with Prana, however that was back when she had access to all of her reserves, meaning it process would take significantly longer now that she was tied up using most of her reserves to simply maintain Saber's presence.

"I guess you have a point," he finally relented, noting the smile that now graced Rin's lips at his response.

"Good," she continued as she considered the bags they had filled, the fact that they had one left over didn't hurt, "in that case, I think it's time to say hello to your uncle."

With a sigh of defeat he acknowledged her statement before picking up a couple of bags and preparing himself for the walk back.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou felt his heart racing as he looked upon the Inaba Police Department.

There was no guarantee his uncle would be there, but as Rin had explained, if they checked the station first and he wasn't there, they would just have to move on to where the map said his house was, but if they did it the other way around, that would just mean an extra journey if Dojima decided to finish for the day and go home because of them.

Entering through the front door of the station, Shirou immediately noted the looks they were currently receiving, what with how they were carrying several bags with them… and on top of that, despite their best efforts, there was only so much dust they could get off without the proper facilities.

"Hello sir," Rin spoke up the moment she reached the front desk, "is Detective Dojima working today?"

"Dojima-san is in today… may I ask why you are asking about him?" the police officer responded with a frown as he looked over their group.

"We were just wanting to speak with him if he wasn't busy," Rin's response was simple though it seemed to cause the officer to narrow his eyes before picking up a phone and dialling a short number.

"Hello, Dojima-san, there are some people here asking to see you if you're available… no, I don't know what they wish to speak with you about," the man spoke clearly before listening to the person on the other end of the line, "yes, of course Dojima-san."

The man proceeded to put the phone down before turning to them.

"Dojima-san will be a few minutes, there are seats over there if you need them," the officer continued.

"Thank you sir," Shirou spoke up even as his heart started to beat faster at the fact he was going to be meeting his Uncle face to face for the first time.

The wait felt like it took forever, it was almost as bad as the Grail War back when they had no idea what to do next… but at least this time there weren't lives on the line so he would just push through the discomfort and try to be patient.

"Hello," a familiar voice finally cut in and he turned to see a middle aged man with greying hair, clear stubble and a grey shirt walking towards them, "I am Dojima, you wanted to speak with me?"

Shirou noted that the officer behind the front desk was watching the meeting but he quickly dismissed that.

"Hello Dojima-san, it's nice to finally meet you face to face," Rin was the first to speak up and Shirou noted the frown that crossed his Uncle's face before it turned into wide eyed recognition.

"Tohsaka-san?" he sounded unsure but Rin's nod made the man immediately turn his attention to him.

Meeting eyes with his Uncle he found himself unsure of what to say.

"Shirou?" the man sounded uncertain but he pushed down his unease and decided to simply bite the bullet.

"Hello Dojima-san, it is good to finally see you," he forced out.

He noted the way Dojima's eyes wandered over them, eyeing the bags they were carrying warily before landing on Saber.

"Hello, uh, who are you miss?" he asked the blond uncertainly.

"My name is Saber, I was an acquaintance of Shirou's Adopted Father and will be moving here with him and Rin," she responded with none of the uncertainty he felt, but then again, she was previously a king… something as small as this would be easy for her.

"Speaking of moving here… I thought you were coming at the start of the new school year?" Dojima said with a frown.

"We are," Shirou decided to explain, "we're just visiting today to check up on Rin's house and gather anything valuable before hiring anyone for renovations."

"Renovations?" Dojima sounded surprised by that.

"My property hasn't been used in a long time," Rin stated easily, "so we needed to check to make sure everything was in order before moving there."

"How long are we talking about here?" Dojima's question was simple.

"The structure appears to be intact, but there's no electricity, plumbing, heating or telephone lines," Shirou decided to state bluntly, causing his uncle to look at him in clear surprise, "then there's the dust and furniture… the house needs a thorough clean and we'll need to get new… well… new _everything_."

He noted the grimace that graced Dojima's face at that declaration.

"Are you sure you'll be able to afford that?" the detective asked.

"My family left me with a reasonable income and some savings," Rin responded without any hesitation, "it'll only be a minor setback for me."

He noted the way Dojima seemed to frown even more at that.

"I see…" was all the man said before he shook his head, "so, how long before you have to go back?"

"Our train is in a few hours," Rin spoke without delay.

"In that case," the man proceeded to turn to face the officer at the front desk, "let the rookie know I'm going to be leaving early today."

The officer at the front desk simply nodded.

"Well, I'm just going to get my coat, I think it'll be good for you to meet Nanako," the man said before turning to make his way back where he came from.

Once the man had left, Shirou found himself relaxing.

He had been worried things would go worse than that.

"So who are you kids anyway?" the officer at the front desk asked.

"I'm one of Dojima-san's nephews," Shirou decided to just let the man know.

"Oh…" the officer seemed to sag at that, "why didn't you say before?"

"Where would the fun be in that?" Rin's voice piped in and Shirou found himself releasing a sigh in response to that.

"You just wanted to surprise him didn't you?" he found himself concluding.

Rin's silence at that made it clear what the answer was.

His attention was drawn by Dojima appearing from the direction he had left, this time carrying a coat over his shoulder.

"All right then, are you three ready to meet Nanako?" the older man spoke without hesitation.

"Of course," Rin answered, Shirou however, couldn't stop his nervousness from emerging again.

He was about to be taken to meet his only surviving blood relative.

"Okay then, my car is just outside," the man spoke without hesitation before continuing towards the entrance, "feel free to put your bags in the boot.. I'll drive you to the Station when you need to go."

"Thank you Dojima-san," Shirou found himself saying in response to that.

"It's fine, we're family aren't we?" the man spoke with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

It was something Shirou found himself sharing.

They may have been considered such in the eyes of the law, but that didn't mean they were close.

If anything, Rin, Saber, Sakura and Fuji-nee were closer to being his family than this man.

But he was willing to try and give the man a chance.

He just hoped everything would work out.

* * *

And that is all for today.

Shadow out.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everybody.  
I'm back.

So let's get on with the fic already.

* * *

An uncomfortable silence descended as everyone entered the car as Shirou took the front passenger seat and Saber and Rin entered the back.

It was clear that Dojima wasn't sure of what to say after he started the engine and set off.

"So…" it was obvious that the older man was simply trying to break the unease but wasn't sure of what to say, "… Shirou, do you have any hobbies?"

He had to blink at that, it was such a mundane question that he hadn't really considered it coming up.

"Well… I used to practice Archery before I injured my shoulder," he decided to explain before noticing the wince his uncle gave at that, "it's healed, but there wasn't really any point in me staying."

He decided to leave out the part about Shinji pointing out to him that performing a formal shooting with a burn on his shoulder was in bad taste, because as much as he understood that particular point, it wasn't the deciding factor in him quitting.

"I'm sure you could've gotten better if you tried," Dojima's response was made quickly and Shirou found himself frowning.

"No, I couldn't," he told the man without hesitation.

"Look, I know it might seem hard at first, but if you just give up then you won't ever get good at anything," the man said and he found himself blinking in response.

"I know that," it was such an obvious thing to consider, "which is why I put my effort into other things when I realised I couldn't get any better at Archery."

"Dojima-san," he found his attention drawn to Rin as she spoke up, "I believe I should inform you that you're misunderstanding Shirou's reason for quitting the club."

"What do you mean?" his uncle asked with confusion clear in his tone.

"Shirou didn't quit because he was unskilled, he quit because he was _too _skilled," she continued, "according to the captain of the club, he has only ever missed a single shot in his entire time there."

"You're joking aren't you?" Dojima asked, clearly not prepared to accept that explanation.

"Well… that is leaving out the fact that the captain has doubts about that miss," Rin continued.

"What do you mean? I missed that shot," he found himself pointing out.

After all, a miss was a miss.

"Ayako says you looked liked you expected it to miss," she said and he couldn't stop himself from frowning at that.

"Well, yeah… but I need to know what it feels like to miss," he said with a frown.

"Shirou… missing on purpose does not count as a legitimate miss when practising," Saber's voice cut in and he found himself stalling at that.

"But a miss is a miss," he couldn't stop himself from pointing out.

"In a competition that is indeed the case, however, when practising it does not count as a legitimate miss," the former King stated firmly and he found himself frowning in response before releasing a sigh and deciding he wasn't going to win an argument with Saber on that subject.

He couldn't stop himself from noticing however, the surprised expression on his uncles face as the drive continued.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima couldn't stop himself from staring in disbelief at the minor argument that had just occurred because of his question.

At least it gave him a better idea of just what sort of person his nephew was.

After all, quitting a sport you were apparently exceptionally skilled at _because_ you were too skilled to improve was not something that normally happened.

Which indicated his nephew was the type of person who likely didn't consider something worth doing if it was too easy.

Of course, the mere fact that Shirou sounded _genuinely _indignant at the idea of his miss being questionable raised the question of just how talented his nephew was in that discipline.

"So… uh…" he wasn't sure if he should continue, but it felt like it was something he probably should do, "what about you two? Do you have any hobbies?"

"I am interested in collecting high quality gemstones myself," Tohsaka spoke up easily and he found himself frowning in response.

"Sounds like a rather expensive hobby," he pointed out.

"Very… but my family did own quite a few properties and patents back in the day," she said and he found himself grimacing even more at that.

"Back in the day?" that didn't sound too good.

"Back when my father was still alive," she clarified, "but then he died and my guardian was put in charge of the estate… he's caused quite a bit of damage to my holdings before his passing."

He found a frown marring his face as he considered the likelihood that her guardian had overstepped their boundaries.

"Do you know how they went about it?" he decided to confirm.

"No, but knowing him, whatever he did will be near impossible to undo," she declared and he found himself releasing a sigh.

"Have you sought legal advice on it?" he needed to make sure she had done the appropriate action.

"I've… been busy since his death," she stated and he found himself looking into the rear-view mirror to look at her.

It was obvious she was trying to outright avoid telling him that she hadn't looked for legal advice on the issue, but she seemed likely to become a member of the family at some point, so it was only right for him to do what he could to help her.

"If you need any help, feel free to let me know," he decided to declare, "I'm no lawyer, but I do know people who could offer their services to you."

"Thank you Dojima-san," she sounded uncertain of how to respond, making it all the more obvious that she wasn't used to being aided.

It made it clear that she wasn't used to adults offering aid and made him wonder just how bad the person who was supposed to raise her actually was.

"Hey, we'll probably be family at some point," he decided to try and lighten the mood with a jovial tone, "so it's only right I should help you."

"Yeah… I guess so," she said with a tone that seemed to indicate acceptance.

Shaking his head clear, he let out a sigh of relief as he turned into the road his house was located on.

He just hoped everything would go okay with Nanako.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima Nanako was lonely.

It was nothing new for her, her dad was regularly working so she had to spend quite a few days without him and even when he was home, he always looked too tired to really speak with her.

But at least she had the TV to keep her company.

She felt her spirits lift as the Junes Theme started playing and started to sing along with the tune before hearing the front door open.

"Nanako! I'm home," she looked to the front door as she heard her father's voice call out before noticing him enter the room, followed by three people she had never seen before.

"Uh…" she froze.

She didn't know what to do when strangers entered the house, but they were with her dad, so that meant they were supposed to be there.

"Nanako, let me introduce you to your cousin," his voice spoke with a happy tone, making her eyes widen, "this is Emiya Shirou."

"It's nice to meet you Nanako-chan," the red-headed boy sounded unsure of himself as he offered a greeting.

"Uh…" she didn't know how to respond to his greeting but found her attention being drawn to the other two people with him.

One was a pretty girl with black twin-tails, wearing a red-coat and a short skirt with extra long socks, while the other person caused her mouth to go dry.

She was beautiful, with blond hair that almost shined like gold, a face that bore a calm but serious expression, while she wore a white coat and a long blue skirt.

"Hello Nanako-chan," the girl with dark hair spoke softly, "I'm Tohsaka Rin, it's nice to finally meet you face to face."

Wait… that name sounded familiar.

She was the person who phoned up a while ago asking for her dad, before speaking to him on the phone several more times.

"Uh… h-hello," she finally managed to force out.

"And our friend here is Saber," the girl continued before pointing towards the blond girl who nodded with a soft smile on her face.

"Hello little one," the woman said with a calm voice.

"So, I wasn't expecting anyone to come today so the fridge is a bit empty," her dad said before continuing, "I know it's not much, but would you be all right with eating out?"

"Of course Dojima-san," the red-head spoke easily, "just don't pick anywhere too fancy, Saber can be a big eater."

The woman in question simply nodded without hesitation.

"Uh… okay, so I guess you'll be okay with Junes," Nanako couldn't stop her eyes from widening at that.

They were going to Junes!

"Yeah, as long as Nanako is fine with it," the red-head said and she couldn't stop herself from jumping up from her seat.

"We're going to Junes?!"

"Yeah, looks like it," her dad said, "now are you ready or do you have something you need to do before we go?"

She nodded before making her way to the front door.

"She seems pretty excited," the voice of Rin said from behind her.

"Yeah… she loves Junes," her dad said straight afterwards.

He was right after all.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou had to admit, the food court of Junes was nothing special, but at least the food was cheap enough that Saber could eat her fill even if she preferred his cooking to the dishes they were serving there.

"So…" his uncle spoke up and he turned to give the man his full attention, "how was your life with your adopted father?"

Shirou simply let out a smile as he remembered his time with Kiritsugu.

"Well, he couldn't cook to save his life," he declared without hesitation, "I'm sure he'd find a way to set water on fire if he was given the chance."

He noted a grimace that crossed Dojima's face at that statement before Nanako spoke up.

"Yeah, dad can't cook either."

"Nanako…" the man sounded almost betrayed by her admission.

"Still, because of that it was either constantly eat microwave meals and take-outs, or learn how to cook myself," he explained, "so I ended up taking over the kitchen at home."

"So you know how to cook?" Dojima asked with a couple of blinks.

"Both Shirou and Rin are rather talented in the kitchen," Saber spoke up and he found himself noting the way Dojima looked at her before shaking his head.

"Yeah, Nanako is proving to be better than me in that department," the man finally seemed to give in and admit.

"Is that so, so what can you cook?" he found himself interested, after all, she was obviously young, too young to have any real experience in the kitchen.

"… just eggs and toast…" she sounded rather put out at having to admit that but Shirou simply smiled.

"How would you like to learn how to cook more things?" he asked her, causing her face to pop up from it's position looking at the table, "since we're moving here for the new school year, I should have plenty of time to teach you if you want."

He quickly noted how conflicted she looked.

She was most likely not wanting to get in his way but at the same time, she probably wanted to learn despite that.

"Don't look so nervous, everyone has to start somewhere and I have some experience teaching others how to cook," he told her without delay.

"You have experience teaching people how to cook?" Dojima's voice piped in and he nodded.

"The little sister of a former friend of mine joined the Archery Club and after my injury, she helped me out, I helped her learn how to cook," he explained, "but after he slipped and broke his back, she's stopped coming around since she's too busy taking care of him."

Of course, it wasn't the full truth, what with how Shinji hadn't slipped but instead been turned into a pseudo-Holy Grail and had his nerves fried in the process, but Dojima didn't need to know that.

"I… see…" the man seemed unsure of how to respond to that, "I hope he's all right."

"Trust me, if anyone deserved that to happen to them, it was Shinji," Rin declared bluntly, causing the man to grimace.

"He was arrogant, a womaniser, kept taking advantage of everyone who he could and had little in the way of morals," she responded with a blank expression.

"Sounds about right," Shirou acknowledged, as much as he was probably one of Shinji's only friends back in the day, it didn't change the fact that the boy deserved what came to him.

Especially given that he was certain Shinji had been abusing his sister and had discovered that he had attempted to rape Rin after she had been kidnapped by Archer.

"Let's drop that subject," he decided to say, earning a nod of agreement from Rin even as his uncle looked uncertain, "I'd rather not think about him."

"Yeah," Rin's agreement made it clear that they weren't willing to continue with the conversation any further.

"Well… it sounds like you've both lead complicated lives," Dojima stated after a few seconds and he found himself offering his uncle a smile.

"Yeah, that we have," he admitted.

"Excuse me Dojima-san," Saber spoke up and he noted that her plate was now empty, "would it be possible to get another serving?"

"… I guess," he sounded unsure but Shirou found himself almost cracking a smile as the man got up to purchase another plate for her, leaving them alone with Nanako in the process.

"So… uh… Nanako-chan," he found himself unsure of what to talk to her about but quickly pushed that aside, "how is it living with Dojima-san?"

She seemed to go quiet before finally speaking.

"Dad's busy most of the time… so I don't see him that much," he nodded in understanding.

"Yeah… when I was growing up, my dad left for months at a time… but at least when he came back he always made time for me," he found himself sharing with her, causing her to look down, "still, he made me the person I am today… so I guess I owe him for that at least."

He noted that Rin didn't look too happy at that declaration, but then again, given how she had previously called him distorted for his reckless actions when Gilgamesh had ripped Illyasviel's heart out of her chest, he understood why she wouldn't be too happy at the idea his father had made him the way he was now.

"Anyway, after we move here, we'll visit you whenever possible," Rin's voice cut in and he found himself nodding in agreement.

Despite the positive statement, he noted that the girl seemed almost put out by that declaration.

"You don't have to," she said quietly, "I don't want to be a bother."

He had to blink at that, it was the sort of thing he could see himself doing, sacrificing connections with others to stop them from feeling obligated to help him.

"We know," he decided to say it as simply as he could, "but I at least, want to get to know my only living family."

She seemed to perk up at that.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so let's both make an effort to get to know each other, okay?" he said with a firm nod, before noticing the small smile that was now starting to develop on her lips.

"Here you go Saber-san," the voice of Dojima called out after that, noting that he'd come back with a new plate already.

"Thank you Dojima-san," the former King of Knights thanked him without delay before starting on her thorough and consistent assault on the meal before her.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima couldn't stop himself from wondering just how such a small girl could eat so much.

Saber's appetite was most certainly not proportional to her frame but he couldn't deny that his eyes had witnessed her devour more food than everyone else at the table combined with no indication of beginning to slow down.

Shaking his head clear of that, he continued his current walk as he decided there was enough time to show the group the shopping district.

"Well, here's the Konishi Liquor store," he pointed out, "though I'd better not hear anything about you trying to buy anything from it."

"We don't drink," Shirou's response was said with an inflection that made it sound like he was more annoyed at the idea of being accused of drinking than anything else, "that's Fuji-nee's department."

He couldn't stop himself from blinking at that, from what he'd managed to learn from the documents concerning Shirou's Guardianship, this Fuji-nee person was most likely his English teacher who just so happened to be his legal guardian.

Of course, the fact that her family name was Fujimura while she lived in Fuyuki of all places raised some concern but he pushed that aside.

It wasn't like his nephew had been raised by the Yakuza.

He hoped.

"I see," he decided to simply accept that, "across the road there is the Tatsumi Textiles and next to it is the local Shrine."

He glanced at Tohsaka, looking at her necklace and inwardly grimacing.

"Sorry to say, but we don't have a local church here," he informed her, earning a snort of amusement from the girl.

"Just because my legal guardian was a priest doesn't mean I'm against our countries traditions," she declared and he found himself stalling at that.

He wanted to ask her about why a priest would ruin her estate but given that Nanako was there, he decided he'd rather not step on that landmine.

"Well that's a relief," he decided to simply settle on saying that.

"There's a steakhouse just down there, directly next to the Aiya-ramen bar," he decided to continue with the tour, "Aiya has a special offer on rainy days."

"What offer?" Shirou's voice cut in, practically perking up at the idea of an offer.

"The Rainy Day Special," he decided to explain, "normally three thousand yen, but if you can finish the whole thing, then you get it for free… never even made it half of the way through it myself though."

He noted the way the trio seemed to look between each other at that before offering nods.

Clearly the idea of getting free food for Saber was too good to pass up for them.

Shaking his head clear, he continued down the street, showing them all the stores around before reaching the metalworks.

"And this is…" he hesitated as he remembered the sort of stuff it sold.

"Is it by any chance, the Daidara metalworks?" he had to blink at that as he turned to face Tohsaka who seemed interested in the shop.

"How did you know that?" he couldn't stop himself from asking that, it wasn't like the store was particularly famous after all.

"My family has had dealings with the family for some time now," she said and he found himself wondering just what her family had to do with what was effectively a weapon-shop, "it'll be the first time I've interacted with them though."

He couldn't stop the questions from flooding his mind but he pushed them aside.

It could easily be a case of her family collecting replica blades or needing some metalwork done at some point in the past.

"I see," he decided to simply leave it at that.

There was clearly a lot about the three people he had just met face to face today that he was unaware of, but he'd give it time.

Right now, he didn't want to push them away by being overeager in his interrogations.

"Well, there is the Tofu shop right there and just beyond it, the bookstore, gas station and bus-stop if you ever need them," he declared before looking at his watch, "I guess we could probably do with getting you to the station soon."

"Yeah, thank you for the tour Dojima-san," Shirou said easily, making him wonder if the boy was ever going to call him 'uncle' at any point.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin felt herself growing relieved at the meeting between Shirou, Dojima and Nanako.

For all her wishes that he would get along with them, she wasn't sure whether he'd accept the idea of including them in his life.

Of course, there was no guarantee they wouldn't fail to work anything out, but it was better than everything going down the drain during their first meeting.

There was the issue of fixing up the Tohsaka house in Inaba, but that was something that would likely require quite a bit of work from professionals to do, so she'd simply find a contractor to deal with everything there.

Beyond that however, there was the issue that Dojima had brought up with her.

Kotomine's damage to her estate.

How much of it was done within the limitations of his status as her guardian and how much was reversible?

She would definitely need legal aid on the matter but finding someone capable of helping with her specific issues was not something she even knew where to start looking.

But at least Dojima was available and apparently knew of some people who could take a look at her accounts and help figure out just what she could claim back.

Shaking her head clear of that, she noted that they had finally arrived back at the train station.

"Thank you for the lift Dojima-san," she said as politely as she could even as she exited the car with Saber and Nanako.

"It's no problem, just call ahead next time," the response was reasonable, she had specifically held off on letting him know about their visit beforehand so he wouldn't get involved if anything magecraft related came up in her house… but now that she'd dismantled the bounded fields and ensured she had extracted everything magecraft related from the building, that wouldn't be an issue anymore.

"We'll be certain to do just that," she declared before pulling out a loose key, "also, would you be willing to hold onto the key for our house while we're in Fuyuki? We'll need to have contractors around and they'll need a way in to do any work."

"Of course," the man responded easily as he accepted the key from her, "I'll make sure to give it back to you the moment you're back in town."

"Thank you Dojima-san," she offered, grateful for his acceptance of the inconvenience.

"Now, it was good to meet you Shirou," the man said as he turned to his nephew, "I hope you find this town accommodating when you finally move here."

"Thank you for having us today Dojima-san," Shirou's response also displayed gratitude but also the formality that indicated he wasn't ready to call his uncle by such a term.

She honestly wondered just how long it would take for him to do that.

"Goodbye Nanako-chan," she decided to include the little girl in the proceedings, an action that was quickly followed by both Shirou and Saber.

"Well, it would appear the Train is arriving," Saber's voice cut in and she found herself acknowledging it before heading towards the back of the car and pulling out some of the bags they had brought.

"Here, let me help with that," Dojima said even as he went to pick up a bag filled with tomes of magecraft, "oof."

The way the man almost dropped the bag upon lifting it made it obvious he hadn't expected the weight from it.

"Excuse me Dojima-san," Saber's voice cut in before she took the bag off him, prompting the man to look at her with clear surprise at the ease with which she lifted the bag.

"I'm surprised," the man said with a look of interest, "I never expected you to be that strong."

"I am a long time practitioner of HEMA," Saber responded without hesitation, "a strong body is required for it."

"HEMA?" the older man sounded confused at that.

"Historical European Martial Arts," Shirou responded, "basically, the type of combat used by soldiers and knights in Europe."

"Oh," the older man seemed to accept that, "still, you must spend a lot of time working out to be strong enough to lift that so easily."

"Where do you think all the food I eat goes?" it was a rational reasoning even if it technically wasn't true.

"Fair," Dojima accepted with an amused smile on his face.

"Anyway, we don't want to miss our train," she decided to cut the farewells short even as all the bags were finally unloaded from the car.

"Yeah, I'll see you at the start of the new school year," Dojima proceeded to say even as he waved them off.

Now, they just needed to find a seat where the bags weren't going to crush them.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The Train ride back wasn't as comfortable as the ride there, what with all the bags now cluttering up their seats, but it was bearable.

That was all Shirou could really say as he considered the day he had just had.

All in all, it hadn't been too bad.

"So… are you looking forward to moving?" Rin asked and he found himself frowning.

"It'll be strange getting used to a town like that," he acknowledged, it was so small that he didn't even know if everything they needed would be there, "I don't think I've ever had to get a train to find what I need before."

The amused chuckle from Rin said everything he needed to know.

"Trust you to think about the convenience," she said before moving past him as they neared his house, "what I meant though, was the people."

"We've only really met two of them," he pointed out bluntly, "but it'll be nice to get to know them."

The small, genuine smile that grace Rin's lips at his statement made it clear she was legitimately happy he felt that way.

"Anyway, are you sure about bringing this stuff here?" he decided to confirm with her concerning the bags of magecraft related clutter they had gathered from the house in Inaba.

"For now," she proclaimed without hesitation, "I need to look through it all before deciding if it's worth taking back when we move there."

He nodded in acceptance.

"I guess that means the stuff that isn't worth taking back is going into storage in your house," it wasn't really a question but Rin confirmed the answer to him regardless.

"Of course," her tone was light, "it'll be safest there while we're away."

Reaching the front door of his long time residence, he proceeded to open it, noting that it was unlocked before letting everyone in.

"Fuji-nee, we're home!" he called out before a sound close to a cross between a Tiger and a falling set of metal bars sounded from the living room.

"SHIROU!" it didn't take more than a couple of seconds for Fuji-nee to appear in the corridor, "how did it go?"

"I think it went fine," he admitted, earning a nod off the hyperactive woman, "I mean, we got a quick tour of the shopping district before we had to catch our train back."

"And what about souvenirs?!" she asked and he found himself staring at her blankly.

"Fuji-nee, we only travelled a couple of hours away," he declared bluntly, "plus, there isn't anything there to collect as a souvenir."

"Well, not unless you count the Liquor store," Rin's voice cut in and he found himself releasing a sigh as he already knew exactly where she was going with that, "but you wouldn't want to get your students into trouble for buying alcohol for you now would you?"

The twitch that Fuji-nee gave at that said everything.

Of course she would have wanted them to get her a bottle of booze.

"Fuji-nee, we had other matters to consider," he pointed out without delay.

"Well, what's in the bags?" she asked suspiciously.

"Family heirlooms," Rin's voice cut in without delay, "they're not the sort of thing that could be described as 'edible'."

She wasn't joking about that, most of the materials were either books, jewel based or something he couldn't identify off the top of his head and didn't think would be a good idea to try analysing.

"Hmph," and with that, Fuji-nee simply crossed her arms and pouted.

"Anyway, it's been a long day for us," he said as he decided it was time to continue to the living room, "we're probably going to put these away and get an early night again."

Fuji-nee looked suspicious but he didn't really care all that much.

"Yes, tomorrow I'm going to have even more work to do," Rin spoke with a defeated tone, "what with finding contractors to fix up the house, as well as try and find some proper legal advise."

"Legal advise?" Fuji-nee asked with clear concern, "what happened?"

"Oh, Shirou's uncle just mentioned that my guardian may have been acting outside of his authority when it came to my family's estate," she acknowledged, "so I'm going to have to hire someone to look over my accounts and give me a professional opinion on what I can do with them."

"Really?" he noted the glimmer that appeared in Fuji-nee's eyes at that, "well, how about I ask my grandfather to help you out?!"

"Eh?" Rin seemed almost shocked at that idea, "no, I've already imposed on him too much already… plus, I'd rather not owe a Yakuza boss anymore than I already do."

"I'm sure gramps won't mind," Shirou pointed out, "he may be a Yakuza boss, but he's not a bad guy."

"Even so…" she still sounded reluctant at the idea.

"Well… why don't you think on it," Fuji-nee finally said, "I don't think it's something you need to rush is it?"

"No, you're right, it isn't something I need to rush," Rin said before muttering to the side, "at least… I hope it isn't."

Shirou couldn't stop himself from releasing a defeated sigh at that.

He knew Rin would have someone look at her accounts whether it was Raiga or not.

But it felt like a bit of a waste to spend money on it when he doubted Gramps would mind looking into it.

"Well, let's get this stuff dealt with," he finally decided to cut the conversation off there, earning nods from both Rin and Saber as they moved to put the relics in the Western Style bedroom.

* * *

And that is everything for today.

Shadow Out.


	5. Chapter 5

And I'm back.

Anyway... on with the fic

* * *

Fujimura Raiga couldn't stop himself from staring curiously as his granddaughter moved with a restlessness that felt more annoyed than normal.

It was obvious that something was bothering her, but exactly what it was wasn't something he could tell just from watching her pacing.

"What's wrong Taiga?"

She stalled at the sound of his voice before frowning, scrunching up her face and then finally releasing a sigh.

"Tohsaka wants to hire someone to investigate her finances," she told him and he found himself frowning at that, "apparently Shirou's uncle said that her guardian may have been acting outside his authority when handling her estate!"

He had to blink at that.

"So she asked you to help?" he had been expecting something like this, though using Shirou's uncle as an excuse was unexpected.

"No! When I offered to ask you, she told me she didn't want to owe the Yakuza more than she already does!"

Wait, what?

"Do you mean she intends on dealing with the matter herself?" he asked with his left eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, she said she's going to try and find a good lawyer to go over everything," Taiga's frown said it all, she was annoyed that she wasn't being allowed to help.

Raiga however, felt a sense of relief and respect welling up in his chest.

It appeared he had truly misjudged the girl if she wasn't willing to use his services for her own personal gain, but was willing to indebt herself to him in order to try and help Shirou.

"Taiga, the next time you see Tohsaka-san, tell her that she won't need to hire someone to look over her finances," he told his granddaughter without delay.

"I already told you, she doesn't want our help," she definitely sounded grumpy and he could understand why.

"Perhaps," he acknowledged, "but what she doesn't know is that I already performed that exact investigation months ago."

He noticed the way she froze at his admission.

"What?" she sounded like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I already had that investigation performed months ago, back when you first told me that she and Shirou started to date," he decided to simply let her know the truth, "someone from a wealthy family like the Tohsaka's being interested in Shirou seemed unusual, after looking at her finances I had assumed she was using him to try and gain my aid with that issue."

The expression that currently adorned her face at that explanation said everything.

She had not even thought of that.

"S-so you already know everything she needs to find out?" she asked and he nodded. "So it would just be a waste of money to hire someone else to do the same thing?"

"Yes," he stated, "she has no reason to waste her money on an investigation, I am also willing to give her advice on a lawyer to contact concerning the matter, though she will have to pay him herself."

He may have decided she was worth helping, but he wasn't a charity.

And giving her access to his own personal lawyer was something that could be considered a favour in and of itself.

"Okay, I'll let her know," she seemed both relieved but uncertain as she gave her answer.

"Good, now, I think it is time for me to go to bed," without another word, he pushed himself off his cushion and started the relatively long walk to his bedroom.

It didn't stop the smile from tugging at his lips as he considered how happy he was that he had been wrong about Tohsaka Rin.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou felt his consciousness return to him slowly, the familiar warmth that had accompanied his life since the end of the Grail War once again present.

Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself face to face with the sleeping form of the magus that had changed his life, her lips barely parted as she lay latched onto him, the sensation of her smooth skin causing his heart to beat faster and his awareness to return quicker.

Swallowing nervously, he resisted the urge to press his lips to hers, it wasn't something he should do when she was asleep, but it was just so tempting.

Wriggling a little as he pushed those thoughts out of his head, he prepared himself for the usual morning routine of manoeuvring Saber into place so she could take over as Rin's human pillow, when a groan came from the girl.

Rin's eyes fluttered open, awareness barely recognisable in them as she looked at him, her lips still parted as she was clearly roused from her slumber.

"Shirou?" her voice sounded somewhat confused, but he wasn't surprised, unlike him and Saber, Rin was not a morning person, it was something even Fuji-nee had come to recognise since Rin moved in.

He wasn't entirely sure of what to say, however the idea of saying anything was cut from his mind as her face moved towards his and their lips met.

Resigning himself to his situation, he found himself deepening the kiss, at least if she was embarrassed by the action, he could point out that she had initiated it.

Time seemed to freeze as he found himself lost in the small but intimate action.

It was something that normal people would probably see nothing special about, but to a pair of private magi who were regularly performing Prana exchange rituals to subsidise the cost of maintaining a Servant, it was the small actions like a soft kiss that held the most weight.

Eventually however, the dark-haired girl pulled away, her eyes showing a little more awareness before her mouth moved once again.

"We don't speak of this, okay?" it was incredible how she managed to put forth an air of authority despite the uncertainty in her tone.

"Yeah," he agreed without issue.

The idea of telling others about his intimate moments with Rin felt wrong to him.

After all, talking about that would just feel like bragging, and that reminded him of Shinji.

He noted that she was still holding onto him like a limpet but he knew he had to cut their time short.

"Sorry Rin, but I have to prepare breakfast," he told her with his regret seeping into his tone, "we have school today."

"Urgh," her near retch at the idea made him release a small chuckle.

"I'll be sure to have your coffee ready," he told her before proceeding to start extracting himself from her arms, "until then, you'll have Saber to keep you company."

He felt Rin's grip loosen on him, allowing him to leave her embrace, one which was immediately filled by the blond servant who had obviously been awake the whole time.

With a small look back on the duo, he proceeded to gather his clothes and deodrant, spraying himself to try and hide the smell of his tryst before getting dressed.

He had breakfast to make.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin couldn't stop herself from frowning as she looked up the phonebook, looking at listings for lawyers.

The issue of course, was finding one who specialised in matters concerning the mismanagement of estates outside of their authority.

It was not such a simple issue to figure out especially when she was only just getting her coffee.

"Shirou!" And, her headache only increased further as the found of Fujimura-sensei entering the house appeared.

"Good morning Fuji-nee," Shirou's response was expected but she couldn't bring herself to give one so quickly.

Seeing the English teacher enter the room, she noticed the way the woman looked at her before releasing a sigh.

That action pushed past her current haze and made her worry.

"What's wrong Fujimura-sensei?"

"I let my grandfather know about your issues," she responded and she let a sigh escape her lips.

"I told you I didn't want to owe your family any more than I already do," she declared.

"Yeah, I let Gramps know that," the teacher said before continuing, "he actually told me he thought you were trying to use Shirou to get to him about that."

She let out a snort at that, the idea of her using Shirou to get access to a Yakuza boss was ridiculous.

Then she froze as her brain processed what her teacher had just said.

"What?"

"Gramps wondered why you were with Shirou, so he investigated you," Fujimura-sensei's words cut straight through the haze that her tiredness cast in her mind, "he already knows about your financial issues and said he would be willing to recommend a lawyer to you."

She had to frown at that.

"Why would he recommend a lawyer to me if he thinks I'm just using Shirou to get to him?" she couldn't understand why the man would do that.

With that, Fujimura-sensei offered her a smile.

"Because you wanted to sort it out yourself," the woman declared, "I think when you decided to do that you got him to accept you."

She couldn't stop herself from staring.

She had thought Fujimura Raiga had already accepted her to some level.

"You mean he hadn't?"

"Probably not," Fujimura-sensei said before stretching, "but he's willing to recommend a lawyer if you need one."

Rin couldn't stop herself from considering the situation.

If Raiga had already performed an investigation on his own accord then there was no reason to waste more money on having it done, not when there was so much she already had to spend it on.

"Thank you for letting me know Fujimura-sensei," she said, doing her best to let her gratitude come through her tone, "if that's the case then I can focus on finding good contractors to fix up the house in Inaba."

"Y-yeah," she noted the stutter in her teacher's voice and let out a frown.

Why did she sound so upset with that?

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Taiga couldn't stop herself from once again feeling her heart sink as she was reminded that Shirou was going to be moving to Inaba.

The plan may have been that they'd only stay for a year but there was no guarantee that wouldn't change.

Even if it didn't, there was no guarantee Shirou would be returning either, after all, she didn't actually know what he intended to do after school, a fact that made her frown even more.

What sort of big sis was she to not even know that?

"Are you feeling all right Taiga?" the calm voice of Saber asked and she found herself jerking as she tried to put her energetic facade back up, there was no point in worrying any of them after all.

"Yep, I'm fine," she declared.

"Fuji-nee," Shirou's voice also cut in as the boy made his way to the table with dishes in hand, "something is definitely bothering you."

She couldn't stop herself from flinching at the fact Shirou of all people said that.

But she couldn't tell him she was scared.

She was the big sis, she wasn't supposed to get scared that he might not come back, that he might forget about her.

"It's nothing," she declared while crossing her arms.

She heard a soft sigh from the boy she had been acting as the caretaker of before he proceeded to sit down at the table.

"I won't push but don't act like I'm stupid," his words stung.

She didn't think he was stupid, a bit naive and childish in his dreams yeah, but stupid, that wasn't the same thing.

Pushing those feelings to the side, she decided that the best way to stop him from worrying about her was by simply carrying on like she normally did.

So with a fierce abandon, she gathered as much food onto her plate as she could before anyone else had a chance to collect their breakfast.

"Hah! Too slow!" she declared triumphantly, hoping that it would distract the trio from whatever they were thinking about her.

"Yeah," Shirou at least didn't sound convinced but she pushed that out of her mind.

Because as much as she didn't want to lose him, she didn't want him to abandon a chance at meeting his family out of concern for her.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

School passed by slowly for Rin as she spent her every free moment searching the phonebook she had taken with her, searching through listings as she attempted to find a suitable contractor that could do everything needed for the renovations without charging extortionate fees in the process.

Everything she saw indicated there was a limit to what any one contractor could do, but she had expected that.

Not everyone was capable of performing all types of renovation work and firms would likely want to have all of their employees trained in a specific field they operated in.

Shaking her head clear, she finished writing down the name and number of the last contractor she was willing to search through before giving up, surely seven names was enough?

"So Rin, what are you doing?" She found her attention drawn by Ayako standing over her desk with a smirk gracing her face.

"Looking for contractors capable of fixing up an old house," she admitted, earning a small chuckle off the girl.

"Do you even know what needs done to the place?"

She couldn't stop herself from snorting in derision.

"Of course I do, we visited it yesterday to make sure it was habitable," she declared firmly.

"Oh? And how was your trip?" Rin couldn't stop her eyes from narrowing, what was Ayako up to?

Looking around, she noticed Himuro sitting unnaturally still and doing her best to not give away that she was eavesdropping.

"Useful," she decided discretion was the better part of valour in this case, after all, if Himuro ever heard that she and Shirou were a thing, the news would be common knowledge to the entire school by the end of the hour.

"I bet, so how did your meeting with Shirou's family go?" she had to cringe at that as she noticed Himuro perking up out of the corner of her eye.

This wasn't going to end well.

Not at all.

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?" she muttered.

The smile on Ayako's face said it all.

She was doing this just to torment her.

It wouldn't be the first time she'd been victim of one of Ayako's little plays, they weren't common but she could have a bit of a mischevious streak when the opportunity presented itself.

"Oh? Are you saying you _weren__'t _visiting Shirou's family?" Her eye twitched as her friend continued to stress just what she was doing the previous day.

Well,

Two could play at that game.

"Oh? Is that jealousy I hear?" she asked as pleasantly as she could.

"So that means you were," Ayako clearly didn't fall for the bait, "and of course I'd be jealous, losing the best archer in this school to another isn't something I could possibly be happy about."

Okay, maybe she did but in a way that hid her true intentions.

That was until her expression softened.

"Seriously, you two aren't going to be here much longer, why go out of your way to hide it?"

She had to blink at that question.

While it was true it didn't change the fact that she was still rather protective of her personal life.

, but then again, going to a new school where neither she nor Shirou had a reputation meant that she didn't have any reason to pretend like they weren't together.

Perhaps finally letting it slip could be considered practice for the next school.

Slumping in her seat and closing her eyes, she found herself relenting.

"Fine, I guess you have a point."

"What is this about meeting Emiya-san's family?" she opened her eyes to see Makidera speaking to her, clearly nowhere near as concerned about hiding her eavesdropping as Himuro was.

"Shirou has an uncle and cousin living in a town not far away, we went to meet them yesterday," she decided to just be blunt.

"But why did you go with him?" the star of the track team continued.

"Because we've been dating for a while now."

It was incredible just how a sudden silence can be deafening, especially when everyone in the room seemed to stop what they were doing to stare.

"Eh? You're dating the Fake Janitor?!" one of the boys in the class practically cried out in disbelief.

"Wow, you've really hit the bottom of the barrel haven't you Tohsaka," another declared with a snide tone, "surely you could do better than that doormat?"

She found herself snorting in amusement at that description of Shirou.

Clearly they had no idea just how damn stubborn he could be when he set his mind to something.

Not even an older, stronger and more experience version of himself could change his mind and given they were the one who was most likely to be capable of such a thing, it really said something about how hardheaded he could be.

"I'd like to see you try getting him to change his mind."

Her response earned a chuckle off Ayako who knew from first-hand experience just how hard it was to do that.

"Oh? Then why does he keep letting people boss him around?" Makidera seemed more interested than the others, but then again, as her self-proclaimed rival it was only natural she wouldn't look down on her.

"Because he thinks helping people is its own reward," she decided it was worth setting the record straight, "isn't that right Ayako? How hard have you tried to change his mind about leaving the Archery team?"

Her friend simply grimaced at that.

"Too much," the response was given with a clear irritation.

"Well, wasn't that Shinji's fault?" the tan skinned girl asked, "I mean, I heard Shinji was the one that convinced him to quit? So wouldn't listening to Shinji count as being a doormat?"

Ayako's snort said everything.

"If it was just Shinji then Shirou would be back by now," the brunette declared, "the real issue is that Shirou doesn't see the point in wasting his time when he won't get any better."

She noted that the people listening in were now frowning.

"What do you mean?"

"The first time Shirou used a bow, he hit a bullseye, then another, and another," Ayako sounded irritated by that, "he's only ever missed _once _and I'm sure he did it deliberately!"

Rin couldn't stop the smile from stretching across her face at that.

"Yeah, though he insists that 'a miss is a miss' whether it was intentional or not," she noticed the annoyance that crossed her friends face at that.

"Oh come on! There is no way someone would count an intentional miss!"

"Except Shirou," she pointed out, earning a small glare off her friend who opened her mouth with the clear intention of arguing before the classroom door opened and their next teacher entered.

"Okay students, return to your seats."

It was obvious Ayako wasn't happy with the timing of the teacher and honestly, neither was she.

It would have been so much better if they had arrived _before _the interrogation.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from blinking as he was stopped in the corridor by a boy from the year below him.

Mitsuzuri's little brother if he remembered correctly.

"What?" he couldn't have heard what he thought he had heard could he?

"They're saying you're dating Tohsaka."

Okay, apparently he hadn't misheard the boy in front of him, glaring at him in a manner that reminded him of the contempt Gilgamesh had shown him.

"Where did you hear that?" he had to ask, after all, there was no reason anyone should know that, should they?

"The upper years overheard my sister getting her to admit it."

Oh, that made sense.

Rin had said that she'd told Ayako but he was honestly surprised the girl was going out of her way to do something like that.

But still, if it had gotten out like that,

There goes the secret.

"Well, it isn't really anyone's business, is it?" he decided to point out, noting the way the younger boy's eye twitched and his teeth grit against each other.

"What is it that makes you so special?"

He had to blink at that.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do girls keep going for you?"

He honestly didn't understand what the boy was asking so he just shook his head.

"I don't know, I never thought I was anything special," well, outside of being a magus with a Reality Marble, but that was a more recent development, outside of that his only real trait was his skill in Archery.

Apparently that was the wrong answer.

"You know what, screw you!" and with that the younger boy turned and stormed off, leaving Shirou alone and confused about what that conversation had just turned into.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

It was finally time.

After a day of worrying about everything, she was about to meet with Raiga once again.

Her heart raced at the fact that she was getting so involved with the Yakuza, but she needed to know just how far she had already managed to get their attention.

Walking into the room where the old man sat, she pushed down any feelings of concern and took a seat before him.

"So, Taiga tells me you intended on dealing with your financial issues yourself," his statement held no inflection as to his true objective.

"Honestly, I'd rather not owe the Yakuza for too much," she stated bluntly, earning a chuckle from the man, ", so why did you make me an offer and for what purpose?"

The man seemed almost amused by her question.

"I was expecting you to come to me about the matter earlier," he told her, "and had you done so, I would have rejected you outright."

She had to blink at that.

"Eh?"

"You must understand that the heir to a wealthy family getting involved with a boy with little more than a house and inheritance appears somewhat suspicious," he continued, "I assumed you were most likely trying to gain access to my organisation through Shirou."

She couldn't stop the frown from marring her face at that statement.

"Because I was unsurprised when I ran a full background check on you and discovered that Priest who was your acting guardian had embezzled quite a few assets from your estate," she had to grimace at that.

A full background check could potentially pull up some less savoury matters if it was thorough enough and the records weren't fabricated correctly.

"So you assumed I was only interacting with Shirou to get your help reclaiming my resources."

It was a logical conclusion when he put it like that, definitely something the magus side of her would have suggested if it wasn't for the simple fact that it was mostly drowned out by her more genuine side.

The smirk the man gave her said she had hit the nail on the head.

"So why are you making an exception now?" she really wanted to know the reason he had changed his mind.

The smirk on the old man's face transformed before her eyes into a fond smile.

"Because you went out of your way to get my help to aid Shirou, but when an issue arose with yourself you declined my granddaughters offer to ask for my aid," he declared, "in this situation, I feel I should apologise for misjudging your intentions towards Shirou."

She froze.

_Apologise_?!

"W-w-what do you mean apologise?!" she couldn't stop herself from crying out, ignoring the sense of propriety that she had been careful to maintain when she met him previously.

That seemed to throw the Yakuza boss for a loop.

"I mean that I feel I should apologise."

"There is nothing to apologise for!" she declared firmly, "if someone is trying to take advantage of someone you care about, then of course you shouldn't accept them!"

Hell, if someone had tried to exploit Shirou's emotions to get something they wanted then she would be the first to throttle them!

Well, maybe not throttle them, a few dozen Gandr's would be more likely in that scenario.

She was about to continue when the man's surprised expression morphed into one of genuine levity.

"Hahaha!" She was knocked out of her tirade as he started _laughing_.

"I understand, I understand," he dismissed her with ease before continuing, "however, it is still polite to apologise for a slight against someone."

She found herself slowly calming down.

At least he wasn't apologising for being suspicious in and of itself, but rather simply to be polite about the matter.

"Sorry," she decided to do just as he had, swallow her pride and apologise.

"Apology accepted," he said with gracious ease.

"Now, I have the research on your finances available as well as the contact details for the most reliable lawyer I know," the man continued after a short pause.

"Thank you for your aid Fujimura-dono," she said only to jerk as a hand slammed on the table in front of her.

"Enough of that," the man commanded, "if you truly do care for Shirou, then do not think of me as a Yakuza boss, but as your boyfriend's grandfather."

She couldn't stop herself from blinking owlishly at that declaration.

Then again, Shirou _did _call the man Gramps so it wasn't really all that surprising the man considered himself to be that even if they weren't biologically related.

"I," she was conflicted on the matter, on one hand, it felt wrong to address a Yakuza boss by a less respectful moniker, on the other, the man had outright demanded it.

She couldn't stop herself from slumping.

"I understand, Raiga-san," she felt somewhat worried she may have gone too far down the casual route but the nod she got in response made it clear the man was happy with that form of address.

"Now, I would recommend waiting to contact the lawyer I am recommending to you," the man stated and she had to question why, "he only takes clients who have recommendations from his currently clients."

In other words, the man was owned by the Yakuza.

She didn't know if that was a boon or a bane.

Shaking her head clear she simply decided that given how the head of the Fujimura family was acting, she wouldn't necessarily get away with _not _using his recommended lawyer.

"Well, thank you for your help Fu-" His eyes narrowed, "Raiga-san."

"And thank you for everything you are doing for Shirou."

She had to blink before opening her mouth and then falling silent.

"I'm not doing that for you," she decided to simply be honest, "I'm doing it for him."

"I know."

And without another word, she turned and left the man who had helped her with so many things she didn't know where to start.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from smiling as he watched Rin attempting to find a contractor who was both capable of doing all the necessary work on the Inaba property in time for their arrival while also not costing an arm and a leg.

The fact that the contractors were already making her grimace without even having a thorough estimate from examining the property really said something about the price of getting it done on such short notice.

"Rin, I don't think you will manage to find anyone competent enough that would be willing to do such a job for a low price," Saber's voice called out and he found himself agreeing with the former King of England.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't _try _to find the best deal," her response was at least not naive.

"Even if they only get most of it done," he decided to cut in, "I could probably finish off whatever they fail to finish."

"I know, but I would prefer it if you didn't _have _to do work on the house after moving," she said with a pout clear on her lips.

He saw her release a sigh of defeat and slumping before looking at her pre-quote estimations based purely on her description of the property and work required.

None of them were particularly cheap but he saw her tallying it all up as she was obviously attempting to come to a decision on the matter, most likely trying to figure out which was the most liable to be worth their prices.

He really wished he could help her, but he wasn't read up on contractors for the Inaba area, meaning he couldn't give any advice in which would be the most competent.

Then a frown marred his face.

Just because _he _wasn't aware of the contractors around there didn't mean they didn't have access to someone who might have knowledge about them.

Moving into the corridor, he looked at the wall and the note that was now attached to the wall.

Dojima's phone number.

He dialled the number and waited for the ringing to stop.

"Hello, Dojima speaking."

"Hello Dojima-san, it's Shirou," he responded easily.

"Oh, Shirou, what can I do for you? Is Tohsaka-san going to need any help with finding a lawyer?"

"No, we're getting that taken care of ourselves," he answered without hesitation, "I was actually phoning because another problem has come up."

"What's wrong?" the man on the other end sounded nervous at that.

"We're not sure which contractors in your area are worth their prices," he put it as bluntly as he could, earning a chuckle off the detective.

"Ah, that makes sense, too many so called contractors are just thieves posing as workers," Shirou couldn't stop himself from cringing at that, "but anyway, I have a few who I've heard are good and a few I've heard just took the money and ran."

"I see, sorry, I just need to get something to write it on," he said as he started rooting around the drawer the phone was on, looking for both a spare piece of paper and a pen, "and I'm ready."

Shirou wrote down the names of the companies Dojima listed off, taking care to separate them into trustworthy and untrustworthy just to make sure they didn't get the wrong one via some mistake of communication.

"And that's all I know," the man on the other end said as he finished listing off a few names, "I know it's not much, but it's somewhere to start at least."

"Thank you Dojima-san," he said, "I, uh, guess I'll see you in a month or two then."

"Yeah, see you then."

And with that, he put the phone back down and made his way towards the sitting room.

"Rin, I just called Dojima, he says he's heard about these companies."

* * *

And that's all for now.

This chapter felt pretty hard to write... but then again, it's mostly filler... so that might be the reason.

Next chapter.

That is when I am planning on having them _Finally _leave Fuyuki.

Hopefully that pans out.

Anyway...

Shadow out.


	6. Chapter 6

And I am back.

Now... on with the fic.

XXX Chapter Start XXX

It was finally time.

After so much preparation they were finally moving to Inaba.

It felt unreal to Shirou.

Standing on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive to take them to the small town.

Most of their belongings had already been sent ahead of them but that didn't mean they didn't have any luggage, it just consisted mostly of Rin's magecraft supplies.

However, the most important part of the whole situation was seeing everyone that had arrived to see them off.

Fuji-nee was a given, but there was also Issei, Mitsuzuri, Makidera, Saegusa, Himuro, Sakura and even Shinji, still crippled by his experience in the Grail War overloading the nerves in his spine and burning them beyond repair.

"Goodbye Emiya," Issei spoke up, while sneaking small glares towards Rin.

The boy still refused to acknowledge her, though he had at least accepted their relationship, however begrudgingly.

"Yeah, sorry about leaving you Issei," he apologized once again, earning a chuckle off his old friend.

"Don't be, maybe without you they'll finally start giving me an actual budget for repairs," the priest in training answered.

At least Issei was taking the situation in stride.

He was definitely taking it better than Fuji-nee, she was simply standing around with her arms crossed and a pout on her lips.

"So… are you two planning on coming back to visit any time?" Mitsuzuri asked as she sat in a seat.

"We will at some point, though we haven't actually planned it yet," Rin answered without hesitation.

In the end, despite moving to Inaba, they were still born and raised in Fuyuki, and they both had property in the city that they weren't prepared to sell to anyone.

"Great, let me know when you're coming back so I can prepare the party," the captain of the Archery Club told them.

"Party?" he had to blink at that.

The mere idea of coming back to a party was… strange.

"Yeah, you can't come home without expecting us to throw a welcome back party can ya?" he simpy gawked at the brunette.

Rin simply snorted at that.

"Do you really think we'll give you a chance to ambush us?" she asked with amusement clear in her tone.

"Do you think Fujimura-sensei _wouldn__'t _let me know when I'm promising free food?" Ayako's question made him grimace.

"What was that about free food?" Shirou had to shake his head at Fuji-nee coming out of her sulking at the simple mention of food.

His ears started to pick up the sound of the oncoming train.

"I guess that's our train," he said for everyone to hear.

He noted the way Fuji-nee flinched at that.

Everyone else simply deflated.

They then each started to give their goodbyes, with Makidera, Himuro and Saegusa offering more casual farewells to Rin while giving him more formal ones.

Shinji however, was obviously trying to avoid talking to Rin.

It wasn't a mystery to him why.

"Goodbye Senpai… Rin-san…" Sakura for her part sounded so sad to be saying that.

He let his nerves relax.

With Shinji in his wheelchair the likelihood of him bruising her again was pretty low.

"Goodbye Sakura-chan," he offered as he started to pick up the luggage as the train stopped, "see you later Fuji-nee."

"Goodbye Fujimura-sensei… Matou-san," Rin responded herself as she and Saber picked up luggage themselves and made their way onto the train.

Taking a deep breath as he stepped onto the train, it finally became real.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima couldn't stop himself from pacing as he waited for the train to pull up.

It had been too long since he had last seen Shirou and Rin.

He had been helping with the renovation of the Tohsaka summer home where he could, mainly overseeing it to make sure everything was done on time and to acceptable standards.

To see the house now fully renovated and furnished made it obvious just how wealthy Rin's family must have been in the past.

However, the most worrying part of everything had been when he had found out who they were hiring to look over her family's finances and see just how much she could claim back.

Sakahagi Futomimi.

A lawyer who only worked on references from the Yakuza.

Meaning that Tohsaka must have Yakuza connections somewhere.

It was possible the connection was Shirou's legal guardian and English teacher; she apparently had the Fujimura name so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that the connection was simply due to that.

But it wasn't a gurantee there wasn't a deeper connection anywhere.

He wanted nothing more than to interrogate her about it, but at the same time, he didn't want to push his nephew away by grilling his girlfriend.

In the end, everything was just too awkward.

Noticing that his current cigarette had run down, he put it in a nearby cigarette bin before pulling out the packet and preparing another.

Just after lighting it, he noticed a train coming in and found himself waiting.

After what felt like hours, the train finally left and he saw three familiar figures heading down the steps, luggage in tow.

Letting a sigh of relief escape his lips he called out to the group.

"Shirou! Rin! Saber!"

The group had looked at him the moment he had called out and started to walk towards him almost immediately.

"Hello Dojima-san," he still found it uncomfortable that Shirou referred to him that way but he pushed it aside.

"So, finally ready to move in?" he asked the group.

They hadn't actually visited since their first trip to check up on the house, but they had at least called him to make sure the building was ready for occupation.

"Of course," Tohsaka spoke with a confident tone, "once we've settled in, we'll come and visit you."

He felt a little nervous at that.

He hoped Tohsaka wasn't going to be a bad influence on his daughter, but if he made sure he was there whenever she was around then he could at least make sure she wasn't teaching Nanako anything criminal.

"Yeah, thanks for coming to pick us up Dojima-san," Shirou said and he simply gave the boy a nod before looking at the luggage they had brought with them.

"Brought quite a lot of stuff with you didn't you."

"It's mostly heirlooms," Rin answered, "stuff I'm not willing to risk losing."

He got the distinct impression that it was likely all illegal given what she just said and his own knowledge of her being at least involved enough with the Yakuza to get one of their private lawyers to look over her finances.

But it was just as plausible that it was just paranoia on his part.

If the Tohsaka family were rich enough to afford a summer home like the one in Inaba, then it was perfectly reasonable that they could have heirlooms worth as much as his car.

"Do you need any help putting them in the trunk?" he decided to err on the side of innocence.

"It's fine thank you," she responded, the other members of the group also voicing their own rejections of his offer to help them with the luggage.

Watching them load the luggage into the trunk was an interesting sight.

Tohsaka was clearly the one of the group who put the most effort into the act, while Shirou and Saber both showed little effort of their own.

However, it was the result of Saber's suitcase being loaded into the boot that made him freeze.

She showed no effort at lifting it… yet he saw his car visibly lower at the addition of it.

He swallowed nervously at that.

It wasn't normal for someone to so casually lift something heavy enough to give a 4x4's suspension trouble.

"So, what's in that bag?" he decided to enquire.

"Mainly books and gems," Rin said almost instantly and he found himself frowning.

He was definitely interested in seeing what was in it now.

"Well… are you ready to go?" he asked the group who simply nodded in acceptance, "then get in, it won't take long to get there."

And with that, the car was filled with four people and the journey began.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The car pulled up to the house quickly and the first thing Shirou noticed was the newly installed powerlines connected to the house.

"Ready to see what the place is like now everythings finished?" Dojima asked and he found himself nodding.

It may have been a Western Property and he felt more at home in a traditional Japanese home, but he would be willing to make do with the house Rin owned.

Getting out of the car, he found himself walking towards the trunk and seeing that Saber was already there and putting the heaviest of the bags on the driveway.

Obviously she didn't want Dojima attempting to lift it and discovering just how strong she was.

He wholeheartedly approved of that.

Pulling another bag out of the trunk, he watched as Rin took her own bag before Dojima even had the chance to try to carry even one of the bags.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to let me help you with that," Dojima said with a tone that sounded almost yearning.

"You've already given us a lift here," he pointed out, "that's more than enough help."

The older man let out a sigh before speaking.

"Oh yeah… you grew up mostly alone didn't you…" the man was probably used to dealing with children who had lead sheltered lives due to soft parents, so dealing with someone like him and Rin was naturally going to be hard for him.

"Sorry… I guess we're just too used to looking after ourselves," he said.

"Well… at least I know you won't be sneaking over every day to scrounge off me," Dojima joked and Shirou let himself chuckle.

"Yeah, you won't have to worry about that," even with Rin's finances being examined by Raiga's lawyer and the renovations done on the Inaba house, they had more than enough money to feed Saber consistently.

Honestly, the only thing that they would have any issues with financially was Rin's magecraft but if their lawyer could get Kotomine's damage to the Tohsaka Estate repaired, then even that would be fixed.

They finally reached the front door and Dojima pulled out a keyring filled with keys and used one of them to unlock the front door before opening it.

"There you go," and with that, the man handed the keyring to Rin.

"Thank you Dojima-san," she said graciously.

And with that, they entered the house.

The first thing he noticed was the new light fittings that he turned on without a second thought.

The second thing he noticed was the fresh lick of paint that made the hallway feel far brighter than it had before.

The last thing he noticed was the new furniture. It was solid oak and fit in with the western style of the house perfectly.

"Looks like they did a good job," he said as he eyed the work.

"Yeah, workers tend to be a bit more careful when they know a detective is breathing down their necks," Dojima said with a wry grin of his own, "so do you need any help unpacking?"

"No thanks, we're good," Shirou responded before Rin could.

He knew that she wouldn't appreciate the man handling her magecraft materials or any of the many volumes of handwritten magecraft notes left by her ancestors.

"Well… if you're sure…" the man was clearly not sure of how to deal with them.

"Yes, you've already helped more than enough with overseeing the renovations," Rin spoke up, "we'd feel bad if you wasted any more of your time on something we can do ourselves."

"Well… I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, thank you for everything Dojima-san," Shirou responded with a smile.

"Goodbye, Dojima-san," both Rin and Saber spoke their own farewells before the man finally left through the front door, closing it behind him.

"Rin, I'm going to check out the kitchen," he declared.

"Don't be silly Shirou," she scolded, "we are _all _going to see how the house is."

Ah, that made sense.

The first place they looked was the living room and the first thing he noticed was a large fireplace dominating the wall facing the entrance to the room. It was obvious that the fireplace had been restored and the craftsmanship was defiitely passable.

In the corner of the room near the window was a brand new television, probably around the size of fourty inches if his guess was right.

On top of that, there was at least a blu-ray recorder for if they were ever out when a program was airing.

The part that really caught his attention though, was the presence of a corner sofa sitting near the tv with a kotatsu sitting in between them. Clearly even with a western architecture, Rin still appreciated the coziness of a kotatsu.

"A corner sofa?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, after all, he didn't understand why she didn't buy a smaller one.

"In case Dojima and Nanako visit," Rin's response was almost immediate and he nodded in understanding.

The sofa she'd picked out was definitely big enough for all of them.

Looking at the other side of the room, he noted the presence of a vast series of shelves as well as a large oak desk with two chairs seated next to it, clearly it was meant for homework and maybe even regular reading if the shelves were anything to go by.

Shaking his head clear he drank in the room and imagined what it would be like in winter, sitting under the kotatsu drinking tea with Rin and Saber…

He soon found himself smiling at the thought.

"It appears Rin made some good decisions," Saber spoke up and he looked at her, seeing the small smile as she looked at him.

Clearly she had noticed his reaction.

He just hoped evevry other room would feel the same.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The tour of the renovated house had gone just about as expected.

Rin had paid for quality and it was quality that they had gotten.

But now it was time for the most important room of them all.

The Basement.

For a normal household it would likely be an afterthought, but for a magus it was the most likely place for them to build their workshop, which in turn made it the single most important room in the entire buiding.

He waited for Rin to open the door that headed downwards, it was going to be her room above all others after all.

Not that he and Saber wouldn't be allowed in, but that was purely because of their own intimate connection to Rin and inability to actually learn the magecraft she practised.

Walking downstairs, Shirou looked at the environment Rin would be working in.

It was darker than the rest of the house with the exception of the master bedroom; most of the rooms had been given a light colour scheme, something he was certain had been influenced by her time living in his home.

But the basement was decorated in dark maroon's and greys, while the stone floor had clearly been levelled off but otherwise left bare.

One of the walls had practically been replaced by a series of bookshelves that would give more than enough room for Rin to store all of her magecraft related texts, while even more shelves were located on the other side of the room but looked to be heavier duty, meaning they were likely for heavier magecraft materials.

At the end of the room sat a large wooden desk with a comfortable looking armchair located behind it, obviously there so Rin wouldn't suffer any discomfort when engrossed in her research.

Apart from that there was an open area with some metal shelves under the stairs, clearly for his own practice materials.

He probably would have felt neglected if he wasn't such a talentless magus.

As it was, he was more surprised that she had actually been considerate enough to give him somewhere incase he needed to store anything related to his magecraft.

"Okay, I'm going to start setting up some bounded fields," Rin said after she had finished checking the equipment's suitability and nodding in satisfaction, "can you leave me for a few hours?"

"Ah, sure," he responded.

"Of course Rin," Saber responded herself before turning to leave the basement.

Shirou quickly followed her.

If Rin needed to be undistracted while setting up the bounded fields, then he would give her that time without hesitation.

Leaving the basement, Shirou shut the door behind him and turned to face Saber.

"So Saber, what do you think of this place?" he asked.

"I have experience sleeping in places like this," she responded and he frowned.

"You didn't answer my question," he pointed out.

He notice her cheeks light up at that.

"… your house had a pleasant atmosphere," she answered, "it was a shame Taiga couldn't come with us."

"Yeah," he agreed.

As nice as the new house was, it felt alien that he was going to be living in it.

He had spent as long as he could remember living in a traditional Japanese manor, even after he had started dating Rin, she had moved into his house without issue thanks to the presence of the Western wing.

But now, now he was going to be living in a clearly Western style manor and he couldn't shake a sense of wrongness with the idea.

The fact that Taiga wasn't there either only made things even harder to digest.

But moving there was for his sake.

It was his family that they were there to visit, so complaining about the house being too Western would make him feel like an ungrateful ass.

"So Saber, what do you plan to do while we're at school?" he decided to change the subject and noticed the petite blonde blink.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked him seriously and he couldn't stop himself from sighing.

"Saber, we're not in a Grail War anymore, you don't need to worry about protecting us all the time anymore," he pointed out, "you can have a proper life here too."

She looked away from him.

He knew that she had never been given the chance at a proper life before, so it was possible she didn't even know where to start with such a thing.

"Shirou, I am a servant, my purpose was to fight in the Grail War," she finally spoke up, "but the war ended and now I get a chance at a second life… but… but my whole reason for fighting in the war was to stop myself from drawing Caliburn and I failed at that."

He felt his throat turn dry at that declaration.

"The only reason I chose to remain after the Grail War was over, was because of you and Rin," she declared as she finally faced him, a soft smile now on her face, "but I don't know how to live as you do."

Okay, that stung more than he thought it would.

He already knew that he wasn't particularly good at living a regular life, but for Saber to point out that even he was better than her at that really said a lot about her lack of experience in that department.

"Well… how do you feel about making a start on it?" he asked as a thought wormed it's way into his head.

Saber looked surprised by that.

"How?"

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Hanamura Yosuke sagged as he looked at the rest of the cases that needed to be put on the shelf.

His shift was going by at a snails pace courtesy of just how quiet the day had been, meaning he hadn't really had anything noteworthy to deal with, nor was there even that much work to do.

The small stack of products currently at his feet were all that was left to go out and he still had over two hours left of his shift.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced in that direction.

Immediately his throat went dry.

Moving through the aisle were a pair of people.

But his attention was transfixed on just one of them.

She was beautiful.

Short blonde hair, vibrant green eyes that shone with an almost naive wonder, fair features that he had never seen on anyone from Japan and a physique that made her look so small and vulnerable.

She was a true Western Beauty.

Dragging his attention from the girl, he looked at the person with her.

He looked to be about the same age as him, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended.

The other boy had vibrant red hair, brown eyes that bordered on being amber, was noticably taller than him and beyond that, through the blue sleeves of his shirt, it was clear the guy had some serious muscles.

"Hello there," the boy spoke towards him.

Oh crap… he must have noticed him staring at his girl.

"We're new here, do you think you could tell us where the reduced section is?"

Reduced section?

"Oh yeah, it's right over this way," he tried to keep his cool as he processed the fact that the guy wasn't acting confrontational.

At least it meant the guy had probably missed him staring.

"Here you go," he said as they arrived, noticing that it was still rather full compared to normal.

"Thanks," the red-head said before he started to sift through the products and pile things into the basket he had brought with him.

"So… you said you're new here?" he decided to try and make conversation.

"Yeah, we just moved earlier today," the boy spoke easily and without any hint of irritation, that was a good thing.

"So… are you two going to be going to Yasogami?" he asked.

"I will be," the boy answered.

That confused him.

"Huh? Why only one of you?"

"Because Saber here is an adult," the red-head said and the blonde simply nodded, "my name's Emiya Shirou by the way, it's nice to me you…"

"Hanamura Yosuke," he replied even as he tried to get over the shock that the blonde girl, apparently named Saber, was in fact older than him.

"So, what brought you to this town?" he asked, wondering if the guy would give a reason.

He seemed like a decent enough guy now that he'd spoken a little.

"I was orphaned when I was younger," the guy said and he found himself cringing at that, "just recently found out that I have a living cousin here, so we moved to get to know her."

"Oh, so what's your relationship to Saber-san?" he asked, wondering just how they were connected.

"Saber was a friend of my adopted father," the boy answered, "she's been living with me ever since she came to see him a few months ago."

Yosuke frowned at the particular phrasing of that statement.

"Did something happen to him?"

"He died years ago," Saber spoke up before turning to Shirou and stating firmly, "and calling Kiritsugu a friend is misrepresenting our relationship."

Yosuke felt like he had just stepped on a landmine.

"We were workmates, nothing more."

He had to blink at that.

It was much better than what he had been expecting to hear.

"Sorry Saber," the boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and that was when Yosuke came to a simple conclusion.

Emiya Shirou may have looked like he could kick his ass, but he probably wouldn't.

"So Saber-san, what do you do for a living?" he asked the girl.

"Saber's unemployed right now," Shirou answered for her.

"Sorry, guess that explains why you're going for the reductions then," Yosuke couldn't stop the grimace from gracing his face at the idea of the two not having any financial support.

"Actually… that's more just habit," Shirou responded with a sheepish look, "I never liked living off of handouts so I got a job as soon as I could and started working to support myself instead of letting my guardian pay for everything or digging into my inheritance."

Yosuke found himself nodding in understanding.

He had sometimes thought about how he may have only gotten his job because of his father being the manager of the branch, so the idea of living off of handouts wasn't all that appealing.

"Yeah, it feels different to be able to say that you earned that money instead of just getting it," he admitted as he thought about his own feelings on the matter.

"Yeah… anyway, I'll let you get back to work," Shirou said with a casual wave of his hand.

"It's not a problem, it's been a pretty quiet day anyway," he let the other boy know, "you've probably just saved our waste budget today."

Shirou simply gave him a smile.

"Well, we've got to get home, see you around Hanamura-san," the other boy responded.

"Yeah, see you at school Emiya-san."

And with that, the two started walking away.

Yosuke simply released a sigh as he went back to work.

At least he had gotten a little distraction.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Saber couldn't stop herself from frowning as she walked with Shirou along the street, groceries for the night currently in bags at her side.

"What was the purpose of this trip?" she had to ask.

"Well… we needed to get some food to stock up the fridge and it also gave you a chance to see how to meet others," Shirou's response only made her frown deepen.

"That Hanamura person?" she asked, earning a nod in response.

"Yeah, sure it wasn't much, but it was at least a start," Shirou responded wtih a soft smile.

Saber simply didn't know if she could do such a thing on her own.

All her life she had worked for the sake of others, placing their welfare above her own but that in itself sometimes required ruthless pragmatism.

But beyond all of that, it required placing herself above others and shutting off her emotions so that everyone would trust her ability to rule.

Forcing herself out of that mindset would not be easy.

But then again, she had already destroyed whatever relationship she might have had with Mordred because of that very same mindset.

Did she really wish to remain trapped by it?

"I don't know if I can do this," she admitted.

"Give it time, you've opened up to me and Rin haven't you?" she could do little more than jerk in surprise at his response, "if you can open up with us, then I'm sure you will be able to open up to others."

She thought about that.

Maybe Shirou was right.

She would never know if she didn't try so…

"I will try."

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Finally!

Rin let out a sigh of relief as she finished setting up all the Bounded Fields she could think of.

She was certain that the Tohsaka manor in Fuyuki had stronger fortifications but they had been in place for hundreds of years, feeding off a Leyline all that time, so comparing the two was simply not fair.

It did mean that any serious magus would be able to break her defences given enough time… but with her, Shirou _and _Saber all in the area, they would fail to do so before finding themselves in an unwinnable battle.

And since she had taken a page out of Emiya Kiritsugu's book concerning Bounded Fields due to learning about the one he placed over the Emiya Residence… they likely wouldn't even get that far before having to face Saber or Shirou.

Finishing up the last of her work, she finally let herself relax.

Shirou and Saber would both be allowed through all the Bounded Fields without issue, and the Bounded Fields around the house only warned them of hostility, leaving the actual protections to the workshop alone.

That way, they wouldn't have to worry about the Bounded Fields reacting to any visitors they might have over.

Shaking her head, she started on her way upstairs.

The moment she crossed the threshold between the basememnt and the main house, her nose was assaulted by a familiar scent.

Shirou must have gone to stock up their supplies while she was busy.

Moving through the house and into the kitchen, she noticed Shirou already doing everything to make it his own.

"Enjoying the new kitchen?" she asked.

"It has more room than the old one and more appliances," she had to smirk at that.

He clearly didn't want to admit it, but the kitchen was clearly superior to the one at the Emiya Residence.

It may have only been a consolation prize, but it was something at least.

Now it was time to ask.

"Do you think you will ever feel comfortable living here?"

He froze.

Obviously he hadn't considered that she knew he would have trouble adapting to Western housing.

She had grown up in it and the Emiya Residence had a Western Wing, so for her, moving to the Emiya Residence didn't make much difference outside of the community that lived there.

But for Shirou, moving to a house in a Western Style must have been hard given all the subtle differences between it and his extremely traditional Japanese home.

She was tempted to order a Japanese Style outhouse to be built but until she had received more information concerning her finances, she couldn't justify such a thing to him without further weighing on his guilt.

"I don't know," he finally answered and she simply nodded in understanding.

"Well… if you don't feel right here when school ends, we will move back to Fuyuki and use this as a summer home," she declared.

Even if that happened the house wouldn't be going to waste.

"Let's just see if I do before making a decision."

"Of course."

"So how did setting up the Bounded Fields go?" he asked.

"As expected, they're not as strong as the Fields at my home, but they're stronger than what you had," she stated.

"Will Dojima-san and Nanako be able to visit?" he asked the obvious question.

"Of course, the only real protections cover the Workshop, the actual house is only covered by warning fields," she informed him.

"That's good to hear."

"Do you want any help in there?"

"It's fine, just have a rest, I won't be long."

Nodding in acceptance, she moved into the living room, ready to sink into the large sofa after putting so much effort into setting up the necessary defences.

God she was tired.

XXX Chapter End XXX

And that is all for today.

Shadow out.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone.

I'm back.

Anyway... that's all for now, so on with the fic.

XXX Chapter Start XXX

Shirou felt a sense of unease as he woke up.

Something was wrong.

Opening his eyes, he was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling before his mind finally figured out what was going on.

He'd moved.

And it didn't take him long to notice something else that was out of place; a warmth that enveloped him as he felt bare skin pressed against his own.

Turning his head to the side, he looked upon the peacefully sleeping visage of Rin; her hair splayed out across the pillow as she lay on her side facing him.

Looking to his other side, he saw Saber in an almost mirrored position, though her hair was in a far neater state simply due to the difference in length.

He couldn't remember waking up with Rin and Saber before; they had generally slept in separate rooms back in Fuyuki simply to minimise the risk of Fuji-nee finding out about their nighttime activities.

But here… here the only thing they had to worry about was Dojima and the man likely wouldn't travel almost all the way across town to check up on them first thing in the morning.

Especially not when the man had his own daughter to care for.

So for the first time, they had all slept in the same room.

He felt a smile tug at his lips.

He could get used to this.

Now he simply had to find a way to get up without waking either Rin or Saber.

"Good morning Shirou," Saber's voice spoke softly enough to not disturb Rin and he found himself looking at her again.

"Good morning Saber… did I…?" he trailed off.

"No, you didn't wake me up," she declared and he let out a sigh of relief.

That meant he only had to worry about waking up Rin.

She wasn't a morning person like he was after all.

And she had also had a rather long day setting up the new Bounded Fields, so she deserved a proper rest.

Taking as much care as he could, he manouvred himself out of Rin's rather loose grip, making sure he didn't accidentally jostle her as he started inching himself out of the bed.

Saber at least didn't have that same issue he did as she didn't have to untangle herself from him.

Eventually, he managed to get out of the bed before finding some clothes that would function for a morning workout and breakfast preparation.

He noticed that Saber was also getting dressed, which would probably mean he would be able to get a good spar for his morning workout.

Eventually they both left the room before speaking once again.

"So… are you up for a morning spar Saber?" he asked her, earning a soft smile off the girl.

"Very well, what type of spar do you want?" she asked and he answered easily.

"Purely physical," it was his morning workout after all; it was purely about keeping his body in shape so practising his magecraft would only make it harder to properly work his muscles.

She nodded in response.

"Then I shall get the practise swords," she declared and he smiled.

He may have been able to project bokken but the real thing was simply more durable and less likely to outright shatter upon being struck.

For that reason they had been certain to send over a series of the wooden swords ahead.

It also helped ease Fuji-nee's mind knowing that he was going to continue practising with the blade with Saber.

So without any further talk, they made their way to the backyard for a morning workout.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima couldn't stop himself from yawning as he pulled up to the Tohsaka summer home.

It may not have been necessary but he felt he should visit and make sure the group was settling into their new home after their first night.

Unfortunately he had work later so he had to visit earlier than he'd have liked to.

He needed more coffee.

Leaving the car, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and readied one when his ears caught something quiet but distinct.

The sound of things hitting each other.

His interest was piqued and he found himself walking towards the house before determining that the noise was coming from behind it.

Following the path that led into the backyard, he could tell the sound was quickly getting louder and more specifically sounded like wood striking wood.

He frowned as he finally reached the corner that blocked his view of what was happening.

The unlit cigarette fell from his lips the moment he caught sight of the source of the noise.

Shirou and Saber were both wielding wooden swords in what he could only describe as the most extreme case of domestic violence he could imagine.

Both were striking with a ferocity that he could barely keep up with and he was certain that if that was him, he'd have already been beaten to a pulp within seconds of finding himself on the end of their bokken.

He wasn't an expert but he was confident that they weren't amateurs at fighting.

And then they both stopped.

The change was abrupt but they both stopped attacking each other so quickly that it looked simultaneous.

And then Shirou took several deeps breaths as Saber spoke up.

"Good morning Dojima-san," she sounded perfectly at ease as she greeted him.

"Good morning," Shirou followed as he seemed to get his breathing under control.

"W-what was that?" he had to ask.

"Morning workout," Shirou declared and he couldn't stop himself from staring, "sparring with Saber is a good full body workout."

He could barely believe what he was hearing.

He had seen actual biker gangs fighting for real and they weren't as ferocious as what he had just seen there.

"You call that a _spar_?" he couldn't stop himself from asking incredulously.

"Yeah, if we were serious then Saber would've beaten me in a few seconds," Shirou's claim made him freeze.

Did… did Shirou even realise just how ridiculous his statement was?

That so called spar had been beyond any violence he had witnessed before, so the mere idea that they were capable of more was legitimately scary.

"So Shirou… do you wish to continue?" Saber's question made his eyes widen.

"No thanks, if Dojima-san is here then you should probably let Rin know while I make breakfast," Shirou responded and he found himself wondering just how the boy could be so easy going after such a brutal 'workout'.

But…

He thought back to what he had seen.

Neither Shirou or Saber had _actually _managed to hit each other despite the speed and fluidity of their attacks… so perhaps the reason their spar had been so ferocious was because it was _normal _for them to react so quickly and efficiently?

If anything, that actually made them even scarier.

"Very well," and with no other words, Saber moved towards the back door and entered the house, with Shirou starting his own journey.

"Will you be joining us for breakfast?" Shirou asked before a frown marred his face, "though… where's Nanako?"

"She's probably still in bed," he admitted while rubbing the back of his head, "but I thought I should check up on you and make sure you're coping before I go to work."

Shirou blinked.

"Yeah, it's weird waking up in a new house," Shirou admitted, "especially when you're used to a traditional Japanese home."

He had to blink at that.

He hadn't realised Shirou lived in a Japanese style house before moving over.

"Still… I guess we'll go and see Nanako later," Shirou declared and he found himself worrying.

"You… don't intend on fighting around her do you?" he asked.

"Why would we?" Shirou looked genuinely confused, "I mean, I practise Martial Arts because Fuji-nee was a Kendoka and tried to get me into it… but Nanako doesn't seem like the type of person who'd enjoy it."

He felt a tension in his chest release.

The idea of Nanako learning how to fight like that wasn't something he wanted to consider.

"So… will you be joining us for breakfast?" Shirou asked him once again and he released a sigh as he looked at his watch.

"I guess I can spare half an hour," he admitted earning a nod off the boy.

"Oh yeah… could you pick up your cigarette?" Shirou asked and he remembered the one that fell from his lips.

Looking at the ground, he noted it lying still before he picked it up and inspected it.

It looked like he wouldn't have to throw it away.

But he was going to be entering Shirou's home… so he put it away as he proceeded to follow the red-head into the house.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima almost had a heart attack when Tohsaka entered the dining room.

He couldn't remember the last time he had seen someone who looked so much like a corpse without actually being one.

Her face looked almost pale, her eyes surrounded by bags so large he could have mistaken them for black eyes and her expression just screamed that she wasn't there.

It actually made him wonder just how she managed to tie her hair into twin-tails and dress herself properly when she barely looked capable of standing.

"Good morning Rin," Shirou declared with an ease that surprised him as the boy placed a large mug of what was obviously coffee in front of the girl.

"Urrghh…" she didn't even respond in coherent Japanese as she took the cup and started drinking from it.

It was perfectly clear to him now that the girl was most certainly not a morning person.

Shirou and Saber certainly appeared to be if the fact they looked perfectly awake and aware was anything to go by.

But Rin was definitely struggling.

"So Dojima-san, would you like anything particular for breakfast?" Shirou asked and he found himself frowning.

"Just some coffee and cereal will be fine," he answered.

"Ah… sorry but we don't have any cereal," the response he got made him blink.

"Wait… why wouldn't you have cereal?" he didn't understand why a group like these three wouldn't have any.

"Because I always make a proper breakfast," his nephew's response was said as if it was obvious.

"Do you always have time to do something like that?" he asked the boy who simply shrugged.

"Pretty much, I usually wake up pretty early so I usually have time," the boy's response made him sigh as he considered that.

It was just another aspect of the boy that made him uneasy.

Hell, from what he could tell so far, the idea that Shirou needed his help with anything was growing more and more unlikely.

Especially after seeing his so called 'spar' with Saber.

It actually made him question the boy's connection to the Fujimura Yakuza even more.

After all, why else would he be so good at fighting while having no intention of competing in competitions?

But he pushed that thought to the side.

There was no use dwelling on it, especially when he had no actual evidence that Shirou was working for the Yakuza; only contextual suspicions.

Hopefully he wouldn't find any later either because he didn't want to have to arrest his own nephew.

"So… is there anything else you'd like?" Shirou asked and he decided to try his luck with something else.

"Some toast?"

"That we have, what would you like with it?" the boy asked and he found himself wondering just what would be quick and easy for the boy to make.

"Eggs?"

"How would you like them done?"

"… sunny side-up?"

"Okay, some toast with fried eggs," Shirou confirmed as he started working at the worktop.

Watching Shirou preparing the meal was strange.

Not because of anything Shirou was doing, but simply how easy he made it look.

The last time he had seen someone cook with such ease had been back when his wife was still alive and Shirou looked like he was having an easier time than he remembered her having when she was working in the kitchen.

Admittedly he hadn't really seen many people work in a kitchen but it was obvious that Shirou at least knew what he was doing.

"So Dojima-san," a voice he wasn't expecting to hear called out to him and he turned to look at Rin, now looking surprisingly less zombified than before, "what brings you here this early?"

She certainly didn't look quite as aware as normal but she was at least capable of forming a coherent sentence and _not _be mistaken for a fresh corpse.

"I thought I'd come by and see how you're doing on your first day in town before going to work," he admitted before glancing between Shirou and Saber, "saw something I never expected to see."

"Let me guess… Shirou and Saber sparring," her response made him blink.

"So you know about their fights?" he asked and she stared at him with an expression that just screamed 'are you stupid?'

"That wasn't a fight," she declared bluntly, "neither were aiming to actually hurt each other so it doesn't classify as a fight."

He couldn't stop himself from staring at her.

Even Rin seemed perfectly at ease with the pairs fighting.

"It didn't look that way to me," he decided to be perfectly blunt.

"It only looked that way because both of us know and trust that we can deal with strikes such as that," Saber spoke up and he found himself looking at her.

"Yeah, it's pointless to spar below your abilities when you're wanting a good workout," Shirou spoke up even as he continued to glide around the kitchen with the grace of an Olympic ice-skater.

He still didn't understand just how they could consider such an encounter _safe_, but then again, he was a cop and _not _a martial artist.

So perhaps the only reason he was thinking about it that way was because he was used to fights happening between drunken louts instead of sober and skilled practioners.

"Fine… I'll trust that you know what you're doing," he finally relented.

It was clear that they didn't see anything wrong with what they were doing.

"But… if you skip class because of any injuries then I won't be happy," he declared.

"That won't be a problem Dojima-san," Shirou responded before leaving the kitchen with a plate in his hand.

Seeing the plate with the perfectly cooked food on it, he silently wondered if he should intrude on the trio in the mornings just so Nanako wouldn't have to keep cooking breakfast for both of them.

He pushed that thought out of his head.

The three weren't there to look after him and Nanako… they were there to get to know them.

"Thank you Shirou," he said as he started digging into the food before him.

"How would you like your coffee?" Shirou's voice called out and he blinked.

"Black, no sugar," he replied before he continued to eat.

His ears caught the sound of grinding before he looked at what Shirou was doing.

Shirou was standing in front of a fully equipped coffee machine in the process of grinding beans.

Clearly he had been too distracted earlier to notice him doing that for Rin.

But more than anything, the idea that he wasn't going to be drinking instant coffee felt alien to him.

Then again, he couldn't remember ever having fresh ground coffee before.

It didn't take long for the boy to finish making the coffee and bring it to him.

"There you go."

"Thank you," he responded before taking a sip.

It was definitely richer than any coffee he had drunk before; if he hadn't seen the boy prepare it then he'd have probably been caught off guard by the sheer difference.

But as it was, he was simply hoping that this didn't ruin instant for him.

"Not used to fresh coffee?" Rin's voice spoke up and he found himself nodding.

"Yeah… only ever really had instant," he admitted before shaking his head, "so… Shirou and Saber said you'd go and keep Nanako company."

"Well, we are here to get to know her," Rin responded and he felf himself releasing a sigh.

"Yeah… just… just don't do anything inappropriate in front of her," he decided to ask.

The way Rin looked at him like he had grown another head made him worry.

"Whatever makes you think we'd do something like that?" she asked.

"Well… I don't know what you three consider 'appropriate'," he declared bluntly, "after all, you're treating an outright vicous sparring session perfectly reasonable."

"It's only reasonable because of how skilled we are at it," Shirou pointed out even as he continued to flow through the kitchen.

The kitchen that was now emanating some scents that were outright delicious.

He couldn't really argue when he didn't even understand just how skilled they really were.

"Also… I don't want Nanako getting involved in anything questionable when she grows up," Shirou continued and he felt his eyebrow rise in response to that.

The mere fact that Shirou sounded sincere in that matter was encouraging.

However it presented the perfect opportunity for him.

"And what about you?"

"I just want to help as many people as I can," the boy responded without hesitation and he found himself noting that the boy didn't actually deny being involved in anything.

But it was also obvious that Shirou knew how to avoid saying anything that would outright incriminate him in anything illegal.

Once again he pushed that thought out of his mind.

The Fujimura Clan didn't have any influence in Inaba as far as he was aware.

There was also the matter of what would happen if he _did _try to arrest them.

As much as he would like to believe he could… it was obvious both Shirou and Saber were _far _more skilled than he was when it came to combat.

He wouldn't last two seconds against the sort of speed and precision they had displayed in their spar earlier.

So pushing them would probably be a suicidal move on his part.

Then Shirou started bringing more plates to the table containing all sorts of food he had never even considered making for breakfast, including a large pot of rice along with some fish and more.

It was perfectly clear now that they didn't take their meals lightly if Shirou was preparing so much variety for breakfast alone.

Looking at his watch, he had to release a sigh at the simple fact he didn't have long enough to try anymore food.

So he downed his coffee before placing the mug on the table.

"Well, I need to get to work now," he declared as he rose from his seat.

"Have a good day Dojima-san, we'll probably see you later," Shirou said as he finished putting dishes on the table before joining Rin and Saber.

"Thanks… I'll see you after work," he said before making his way out of the house.

Now it was simply a matter of dealing with whatever shit the department would throw at him.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from feeling a sense of relief as Dojima left the house.

He hadn't expected to see him that early; partly due to being too distracted trying to keep up with Saber to notice the tingling that indicated visitors.

Which meant he hadn't stopped his spar with Saber early and Dojima had witnessed their idea of light exercise.

And naturally the man had shown concern at their intensity.

"Sorry Rin," he said, "I didn't notice the bounded field go off because I was sparring with Saber."

"Were either of you using magecraft?" she asked and he shook his head in the negative, they had been practising using purely human levels of physicality, "then there is nothing to worry about."

He had to blink at that.

"As long as you were fighting within human limitations then he will simply know that you both practise martial arts and there is nothing illegal about that," she continued as she collected food from the pile before her.

It might have been true but it was also obvious that the man had been left incredibly suspicious of them.

"Besides… it's not like either of you will press charges against each other for assault," the magus in red continued.

That… was true.

Even if Dojima-san wanted to do something about it, as long as neither of them pressed charges against each other then there was little he could do to them.

And he had absolutely no intention of pressing charges against Saber.

Hell, all that would do would be bring out her lack of existence to the cops and Rin would have to hypnotise them all to forget that she had no records.

"So you're saying we shouldn't worry about Dojima-san seeng us again?" he asked Rin and she shrugged.

"As long as you leave your magecraft training in the workshop then there won't be a problem," she responded.

He nodded in acceptance of that.

There was a clear area in the basement where there was enough room for them to spar.

But they could probably do with getting some crashmats just to make sure he didn't hurt himself falling over.

It wasn't likely… but Saber _could _hit him hard enough to break concrete if he was reinforcing himself so it would be safer for everyone involved.

"We'll need to get crash mats for it then," he declared, earning a nod off Rin in the process.

"I guess that makes sense… my magecraft never required such violent practise so I didn't consider how often Saber buries your face in the ground," her response made him frown.

The way she said that made it clear that she was mocking him.

"It's not _that _bad," he declared but she simply snorted in obvious amusement.

"Indeed, Shirou performs far better than most humans against me," Saber piped in.

"Thank you Saber," he said as he noticed she was adding more food to her plate.

She simply nodded in response as she started eating once again.

"Anyway Rin…" he decided he needed to ask, "what is with the coffee machine?"

He hadn't really noticed it before.

Mainly because he didn't really drink coffee himself and Rin had gotten the beans herself.

"We don't go through coffee fast enough for it to become a big expense, so I decided that we could afford quality in that area," she replied and he nodded.

He would've preferred to simply buy instant but it wouldn't make a major impact on their finances so he wouldn't argue about it.

"So… when are we going to go to Dojima-san's house?" he asked.

"Whenever we're ready," Rin declared, "we could all probably do with getting washed before heading over though."

Shirou felt himself swallow nervously at that.

After all, he knew that the bathroom was big enough for all three of them…

Suddenly he found himself anticipating taking a bath more than he ever had before.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from feeling a sense of elation as he thought about the bath he had just had.

It had certainly been more active than any other he had experienced.

He was also confident that if he didn't have a bit of experience at looking at Rin and Saber after their nights together, he'd probably be blushing everytime he looked at either of them.

And that would have been extremely awkward if he was acting that way around Nanako.

As it stood however, he was simply looking forward to the next time they did it while currently walking towards the Dojima residence.

"So… I know we're going to be visiting Nanako but I have something business related I need to do today," Rin declared and Shirou nodded in acceptance.

"Okay, you don't need me for it do you?" he asked, causing her to shake her head in the negative.

"I don't need any help with this matter," she told him easily, "there is simply a family contact living in this town that I should inform of my presence."

He nodded.

Despite keeping the word out of the sentence, it was obvious she meant there was another magus living in town that she needed to speak to.

That she didn't need either of them with her for the matter meant that it was likely nothing dangerous.

"Okay, then I'll stay with Nanako while you do it," he declared.

"Actually… it's in the shopping district, so if she still likes that supermarket we should pass it on our way there," Rin declared and he blinked.

"Oh, then I guess we'll see about taking Nanako on a day out," he accepted as they finally found the street that led to Dojima's house, "this looks familiar."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is the right street," Rin agreed.

One of the disadvantages of having only visited one time a couple of months ago via car was that they weren't all that familiar with the town or how to get to the Dojima residence from their own house yet.

Walking up to the familiar looking house, Shirou looked at the name plaque outside.

'Dojima'

It seemed they were indeed on the right street.

"So… I guess we should probably ring the doorbell before entering," he said as he pressed the doorbell.

The ringing that sounded within the house was loud enough for him to hear but they all waited.

Eventually the door was opened by a somewhat familiar face.

The look of surprise that appeared on the little girl made it clear just how little she had been expecting them.

"Good morning Nanako-chan," he said as he offered her a reassuring smile, "can we come in?"

"Y-yeah…" she didn't sound certain but he took that as her simply not being used to letting people in.

"Thank you Nanako-chan," he said as he started making his way into the house, Saber and Rin both following while offering their own greetings to the girl.

Walking into Dojima's house for the second time ever, he found himself taking a bit more of it's design in than he had previously.

It was a very simple house, with a kitchen that made Shirou wonder just how the man cooked anything in such a limited space; the sink was also filled with dishes that told him his cousin had cooked eggs for herself.

Outside of the kitchen there was a table separating it from the main living area which consisted of a simple two seat sofa and a Kotatsu with a pair of cushions around it, while a decent sized television was sitting in such a position that whoever was sitting closest to it would have to turn to watch it.

On the kotatsu was a dirty but empty plate that let him know the girl had likely only just finished her breakfast.

He simply smiled as he walked towards the kotatsu and picked up the plate.

"Ah, you don't need to do that," the little girl called out.

"I know," he responded, "but I feel like doing it anyway."

The little girl looked nervous when he said that.

It only took a few seconds for him to figure out why.

She was so used to being left alone that she had internalised the idea that it was her job.

"Don't worry about it Nanako-chan," he decided to try and ease her worries, "I am just going to wash the dishes so we can go out."

The small girl seemed to perk up at that.

"Go out?" she sounded surprised by that.

"Yeah, do you still like Junes?" her eyes lit up the moment he asked that.

"Yes!" she cried out immediately.

"Then we'll be going there after everythings been washed," he told her as he looked at Rin and Saber who both looked at him with small smiles.

Well, Saber was offering him a small smile, Rin's was closer to a wry grin.

"Junes~!" the little girl started to practically sing in joy.

He had a feeling she'd be upset if they didn't leave soon, so he headed straight for the sink and started washing the dishes.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from watching Nanako as she practically skipped as they reached the shopping district.

It had been a pretty short walk all things considered but the girl was clearly eager to get to the supermarket.

"Calm down Nanako-chan," Rin spoke up and he almost chuckled, "we have all day to spend in town."

"But Junes…" the girl said in a tone that made it clear the mere fact it was Junes was supposed to make it important.

"Just relax, we're not in a rush," he declared, "we're probably going to spend most of the day in town so don't tire yourself out so early."

The girl nodded in response to his words.

As they started to walk past the gas station, a voice called out.

"Hi there! I haven't seen you three around town before."

The voice was somewhat femnine though there was a sense that it could belong to either a boy or girl despite that.

Looking towards the figure, he found himself looking at a person with long grey hair, wearing a red and yellow uniform that matched the branding of the station.

He had the impression that they were a womam but they were close enough to being androgynous that he could easily be wrong.

"Ah, sorry, we've just moved here," he admitted.

"So… why are you with Dojima-san's daughter?" the attendent asked with an underlying tone of suspicion he'd probably have not picked up on if he wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, I'm her cousin," he said easily, "Dojima-san is at work so we're spending some time with her."

The attendent didn't look convinced but they held out their hand anyway.

"Well, we've got CCTV so if you are lying we have your face on camera," the attendant declared and he let out a small chuckle.

"That's fine," he acknowledged, he wasn't going to get upset about someone caring about the public.

Taking the person's hand, he felt a sense of _wrongness_… and then it was gone.

"Well, then I should probably get back to work… good day to you all," the attendent said as they let go of Shirou's hand and waved them off.

"Are you okay Shirou?" Rin asked and he shook his head clear.

"Yeah… I think so," he said, he wasn't sure exactly what he had felt but it wasn't likely something that should be talked about in public, plus, it hadn't felt like any magecraft he had experienced so perhaps he was just imagining things.

"Then let's get going," the little magus declared as they started moving along the street.

Eventually Rin stopped and Shirou found himself looking at the shop she was halting in front of.

A blacksmith.

"I have business in here, so you three just go on ahead," she said and he nodded.

"Come on Nanako-chan, Rin will join us when she's finished in there," he declared to the little girl who nodded in confusion.

Continuing along the street, Shirou did have to wonder just what the magus who ran that store was like.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin couldn't stop herself from releasing a sigh as she entered the blacksmith's store.

Despite the apparently mundane set-up, she knew that what she was seeing was barely anything compared to what was likely locked in a vault and covered with more bounded fields than your standard magus's house.

Honestly, she doubted it took more than a few minutes for the owner to create all the weapons and armour that were on display.

After all, when your family's magecraft was all about manipulating materials and infusing them with specific properties, creating such a large number of mundane pieces was less difficult than filling one of her gems with prana.

And anyone who had tried replicating that feat would agree that it was infusing the object with useful properties that was the hard part of the process.

"Hello, can I help you?" a gruff voice spoke out.

Looking at the counter, she noticed the man almost blending into the background.

He was big, likely middle-aged and possessed balding Ginger hair.

"Hello Deidara-san," she spoke calmly, "my name is _Tohsaka_ Rin."

Her emphasis of her name made the man raise an eyebrow before his eyes glanced at the front door before back to her.

"Is there a reason you've come to see me?" he asked and she simply offered him a smile.

"I am simply here to inform you that due to certain circumstances, I have moved to Inaba," she declared, earning a sigh off the man.

"So that's why they were renovating the Tohsaka home," obviously the man had been paying attention to it, "I assumed your family had finally decided to sell the thing."

"No, I decided to move here myself."

"And what about the Heaven's Feel?" the man asked and she grimaced, "isn't your family heavily involved in that ritual?"

"There are… issues… concerning that event," she didn't want to go into details… but seeing the Grail manifest as a horrific black mud with the purpose of wiping out humanity made it obvious to her that something was wrong with the system.

She didn't know what it was… but she planned on eventually gaining aid in dismantling the system.

But she would have to wait until she attended the Clock Tower before she could get the necessary aid in that matter.

"Doesn't surprise me," she had to blink at the man's quick response, "the more powerful something is, the more likely it is that even a minor flaw could prove devastating."

"Speaking from experience?" she asked before realising that she may have come off as prying.

"Yeah… you don't spend most of your life dealing with dangerous stuff without getting a few hard knocks in the process," the man admitted.

At least it seemed he took her question for what it was meant to be.

Nothing serious.

"Even so… it's strange for you to move here," the man continued, "there must be a motive for moving here."

She couldn't really deny that.

"It's family related."

"I know you're the last Tohsaka alive kid," the man continued with a frown, "and I know my business is the only thing your family has connections to in this town… so don't take me for a fool."

She couldn't blame him for thinking that.

"It's…" she finally decided to relent, "I have a partner whose only living family is here… so we came to be near them."

The man blinked.

"So it's entirely personal and not business related?" he asked and she nodded, "I suppose that's a relief."

She could understand why he'd be relieved by that news.

Having the Clock Tower's Overseer personally visit you could prove to be a rather negative experience for quite a few magi.

"Regardless… I will likely be in town for at least a year," she informed him, "so if you have any issues to report, I live nearby now so don't hesitate to call me."

The man nodded.

"So is that all you need today?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah… we were actually just passing," she admitted.

"Then enjoy the rest of your day Tohsaka-san," the man said and she nodded.

"Thank you, enjoy your day too," and with that, she left the building, ready to catch up with Shirou, Saber and Nanako.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

That… that wasn't right.

She held her hand in front of herself and looked at it with a frown.

That red-headed boy had obviously been telling the truth about his relationship to the little girl but that wasn't what truly mattered.

What mattered was that Izanagi was still with her.

She had tried to impart the Persona upon the boy but there was something about his psyche that had rejected the form she had tried to give it.

It was as if it had already defined itself in such a way that it was no longer compatible with the very power gifted to humanity by Philemon.

The only things she knew that had such reactions to True Persona were distinctly existences such as demon's, spirits and gods.

Beings so inhuman in their mindset that the very concept of a persona was anathema to them.

Which raised the quesiton… _what _was that boy and how had his mind rejected a persona?

That would certainly be interesting to discover.

It was simply a matter of getting close to the boy without raising any suspicion.

But there would probably be plenty of time for that.

So she wouldn't rush.

Just take it slow and steady and she'd eventually learn everything about the boy.

That much was a certainty.

XXX Chapter End XXX

Anyway... that's all for now.

Shadow Out.


	8. Chapter 8

Well... I'm back.

And...

Let's just get on with the show.

XXX Chapter Start XXX

Shirou watched as his little cousin sat at the table, practically swaying in happiness at their current location.

It was honestly ridiculous that the girl would consider a supermarket their favorite location, but then again he didn't exactly have a normal childhood; what with the fire, being adopted by a magus and having a Yakuza princess acting as his legal guardian.

In some ways he actually found himself relating to the girl.

She was so alone that simply going to a place that was shown on TV was enough to make her happy.

His attention moved to Saber and how she was already systematically abolishing the contents of the meal she had ordered, her pace steady but nowhere near slow.

"Uh… how long will Rin-san be?" Nanako's voice spoke up and he offered her a soft smile.

"Rin probably won't be long," he informed her, earning a small nod.

"It is possible that whatever she is dealing with might be complicated but Rin is capable," Saber spoke up herself, "any issues that may arise will likely be easy enough for her to resolve."

Shirou could easily agree with that sentiment.

The chances were that the only real issue Rin may face would be if whoever she was dealing with tried to fight her.

And she had managed to hold her own against Caster; admittedly she had to use all her gems and she had caught the servant off guard but it was still an amazing feat in and of itself.

And even if she _did _get in over her head, she still had her command seals, allowing her to call Saber to her in an instant.

"Regardless, she'll be done when she's done," he concluded, earning a small nod from the little girl as she fidgeted, clearly still uncomfortable, "do… you dislike her?"

He hoped that wasn't the case.

Understanding that Rin wasn't a good influence was one thing, actively disliking her was another matter entirely.

"No…" she responded with a quick shake of her head.

"Then what's wrong?"

The little girl looked down at the menu she had been looking at before glancing back at him and then away.

It took him a few seconds to realise just what the girl was worried about.

"You're having trouble reading the menu aren't you?" he asked her.

Almost immediately the girl tensed up as her face turned red and she nodded.

"You should have just said so," he responded as he moved closer to her, picked up the menu and started to talk her through it.

The little girl's unease seemed to dissapate as he started to talk her through the menu, explaining some kanji that she would have never been exposed to yet and explaining exactly what every dish on it was.

It almost made him laugh when he realised he knew how to cook everything on the menu but easily dismissed that point, it would be a universal menu throughout all the stores, so the menu would have to be possible to make for any random employee regardless of their experience.

"Umm…" eventually the little girl displayed interest in something on it.

He found himself completely unsurprised that it was the dessert that caught her interest.

"How about this, you can have some dessert after you eat something proper," he said, causing the girl to look at him with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he replied easily.

He doubted she wasn't allowed anything on it, otherwise Dojima would have probably let them know that she wasn't allowed something.

Almost immediately the little girl started to look at the earlier portions of the menu with more vigour.

"Can I have that?" the girl asked as she pointed at the steak.

"Of course," he answered almost immediately before looking over to Saber.

He found himself unsurprised to see her sitting patiently, her empty plate in front of her.

"I guess you'll want seconds Saber?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes please Shirou," the answer was given politely and he nodded as he stood to make his way towards the cashier.

Before he reached it, he noticed a hint of red out of the corner of his eye.

"Finished your business Rin?" he asked as the most talented magus amongst their group arrived.

"Yes," she answered as she walked up to him and then offered a wave towards Saber and Nanako, "it wasn't anything serious."

He nodded.

"Well Saber has already eaten her first sitting," he let her know, earning an understanding nod off his partner, "Nanako is going for the steak and I'm going to get Saber her second one."

"Nanako is going for the steak?" Rin sounded somewhat surprised, "I would've expected a child of her age to go for ice-cream."

"She can have that after getting something proper to eat," he informed her, earning a nod in response.

"I see," she responded as they reached the counter and Rin picked up a menu and having a look through it.

"Welcome to Junes, how can I serve you today?" the cashier asked, a clearly fake smile plastered on his face.

Shirou glanced at Rin who finished looking at the menu and spoke up.

"Four steaks please," she said easily.

"Are you two together?" the cashier asked as he looked over at the table with Saber and Nanako.

"Yeah, Rin just had some business to attend to before joining us," he explained, causing the man to nod in understanding.

"Okay then," the cashier answered, "so which one of you is going to pay?"

Shirou was about to pull out his own wallet before a hand stopped him.

"I'll pay for this round," Rin said with an air of finality in her tone.

Shirou simply released a sigh at that.

He knew that tone.

It meant she wasn't going to tolerate any attempt to argue the matter.

"Okay then," the cashier said, "we'll bring your food to you when it's ready."

"Thank you," Shirou responded before he waited for Rin to finish paying and then walked with her to the table.

"Hello Saber, Nanako-chan," Rin spoke easily as they both took their seats at the table, "did you miss me?"

Rin was clearly asking Nanako but the girl simply shook her head.

"Not really."

Shirou almost laughed at the way Rin's eye was starting to twitch and her smile grew far more forced.

"Dad is always at work so I'm used to being left alone," the little girl continued and Shirou felt his own mood fall at that.

He still remembered all the times when Kiritsugu would leave for months at a time.

His father never told him where he was going or what he was doing.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head.

Kiritsugu had saved him, helped him rebuild after the fire, helped him find an ideal to live by.

Yes that ideal had driven Archer to despair but he wouldn't allow that to consume him.

"Oh…" Rin's response caused her to go from annoyed to sympathetic.

An awkward silence fell on the table before Shirou decided to speak up.

"Well, Saber doesn't have a job or school," he pointed out, "so she'll be able to keep you company whenever no one else is around."

The little girl looked at the blonde haired king.

Saber's response was simply to offer a nod of acknowledgement, earning a small smile from the little girl.

"Four steaks?" an unfamiliar voice called out and Shirou turned to face a blonde haired girl holding a tray with their order.

"Here," he said, causing the girl to make her way over to the table and lay it down.

"Here you go," she said, her expression clearly tired.

"Thank you," he said as he looked at the girl's name-badge, "Saki-san."

The girl offered a small nod before leaving.

"Well… itadakimasu," Shirou said after spreading out the dishes.

And with that, they all started to eat.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Dojima couldn't stop himself from releasing a sigh of contentment as he got out of his car.

The day had dragged on, not at all helped by his early morning.

Hopefully Shirou and his housemates had done what they said they would and spent some time with Nanako.

Opening the front door he called out tiredly.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome home dad!" he almost had to blink at the tone Nanako took.

There was something slightly off about it.

She was always happy when he returned but it lacked the same eagerness it normally did.

"Welcome back Dojima-san," Shirou's voice cut in as he entered the living room and looked at the gathered group.

Nanako looked almost content, sitting at the table, a happy smile gracing her lips as Saber sat at the other side of the table, while Shirou and Rin shared the sofa.

The scene caused his heart to ache.

Because of one thing.

He wasn't a part of it.

"Hello Shirou," he responded, pushing the ache to the side, "did you have a good day Nanako?"

The little girl almost immediately started nodding vigoruously and he felt the twinge appear once again.

She should have always been like that but he just didn't know how to… didn't have the time to spend with her.

"Yeah… we… went to Junes," Nanako told him and he almost laughed.

That girl was far too focused on that store.

"Oh? And what did you do there?" he asked her.

"We got some food and had a look around," she answered, "I even got some icecream."

He had to chuckle at that.

It was such a simple thing to focus on but she was a child so even something as simple as that could probably mean a lot to her.

"Anyway, thanks for looking after Nanako today," he said as he looked at the three teenagers… wait, no, that wasn't right.

He forgot that Saber was apparently an adult.

"It's not a problem Dojima-san," the Tohsaka girl answered, "we came here to get to know her in the first place after all."

He nodded.

It made sense that they wouldn't consider looking after his daughter an issue but it didn't stop him from feeling grateful to them for that.

"Even so, it's good to know Nanako isn't alone," he pointed out, causing the girl in red to nod, "so… do any of you need something to eat?"

The two on the sofa shook their heads in the negative.

Saber however, simply sat still as her face started to flush.

"We're fine thank you," Shirou answered, "Saber would probably be happy to eat more but we don't need anything else."

The way Saber looked away from the duo at that made it obvious she had no argument to make.

"Anyway…" he felt uncomfortable as he started to speak again, "I had a pretty early morning… and I'm not as young as I used to be…"

He hoped they would undertstand what he was saying.

He didn't want to sound like he was trying to throw them out but he had been running on coffee pretty much all day.

"Okay, we'll get going then," Shirou responded as he rose from the sofa, Rin moving almost in sync with him and Saber moving to her feet as well.

Almost immediately he noted the look of disappointment on Nanako's face.

"Don't worry Nanako," he said, "it's just getting late… I don't think Shirou, Rin and Saber will refuse to see you tomorrow."

He glanced at the trio who simply offered the little girl a soft smile.

"Yeah, we'll come by again tomorrow," Shirou answered.

Almost immediately he noticed Nanako's smile starting to return.

It was just such a shame he had so much trouble getting her to do that these days.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from releasing a tired sigh as he left the Dojima residence.

The day had been… hard.

But then again, any day where he was simply relaxing with Rin and Saber were the same.

Despite knowing what waited for him in the future, despite knowing that he had helped save countless lives in the Grail War… he couldn't help it.

That feeling of guilt that sometimes clenched around his heart.

That feeling that he didn't deserve to be happy.

That feeling that he should have died in that fire.

It still crept upon him despite all the work he had done to try and make himself feel more valuable.

He sometimes tried to imagine what the Grail War would've been like if he had died in the Fuyuki fire, but he just couldn't even begin to imagine what would've happened.

"Shirou… are you all right?" Saber's voice cut in and he felt his attention move to her once again.

"Yeah…" he answered, unable to put any conviction into his tone.

Saber looked uncomfortable at that.

It was obvious she didn't buy his answer but didn't know how to push the matter.

He was fine with that.

"Shirou," Rin spoke from his other side and he turned to face her.

She started to analyse his face and he suddenly felt rather uncomfortable.

He saw her hand twitch before she took a deep breath.

"Shirou… stop doing that to yourself," she told him firmly, "what's done is done, you need to live for the here and now."

He simply released a sigh.

She knew that one version of him would sell his soul to Alaya and become a Counter Guardian.

She knew that he blamed himself for not saving the others during the fire.

And she knew that as much as she may want him to, he couldn't let it go.

The fire had shaped him into the person he was but there were many people who hadn't escaped; his own parents were two such people, crushed and burned under the rubble of their own home as they gave their lives to get him to safety.

He could still remember their cries as he left them.

"Sorry…" he pushed those thoughts aside, it would do no good to get consumed by them.

Rin simply looked at him before releasing a sigh.

"Well… I guess here is as good a place to work through your issues as any," she declared, "after all, what's the worst that could happen in a quiet town like this?"

Shirou almost laughed.

"I guess that means you just jinxed our stay here," he said.

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied, shaking her head at him, "jinxes are far more complicated than just saying something won't happen."

He simply let out a smile.

Hopefully she was right.

He didn't want to have to deal with anything dangerous this year if possible.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Time passed by quickly for Shirou as he found himself growing accustomed to the small town feel of Inaba.

Waking up in a Western style house next to Rin and Saber stil felt strange but that wasn't something he was going to complain about.

The lack of adult oversight was also liberating.

It meant he didn't have to be careful to make sure Fuji-nee or Sakura weren't around to see him doing anything related to magecraft.

At the moment though, he and Rin were in the bedroom, getting changed into their new school uniforms to make sure they fit.

"How does it look?" Rin's voice called out.

Looking at her, he found himself swallowing.

She stood before him, wearing her new school uniform.

It was somewhat strange to see her wearing black but despite that, the uniform suited her.

"Uh… weird… but nice," he answered, earning a soft chuckle off her.

"I meant are there any problems?" she said and he blinked before realising what she meant.

"Sorry," he apologized before looking over her with proper focus, "I can't see any creases, the fit seems right so there isn't any loose frabic… did you alter it to fit properly?"

He wouldn't be surprised if she had manipulated it to improve the fit; for all her outward confidence, he knew just how insecure she really was.

So making a good first impression to the school would be a top priority for her.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly as she did so.

"I know it's so minor… probably not even worth using but…" she responded, her tone clearly uncertain.

"Yeah, you want to make a good first impression," he acknowledged, earning a nod, "I figured you'd want to do that."

She pouted at that.

"I mean, you were the idol of Homurahara… I figured you'd want that status here too," he said.

This time she snorted.

"Well… there's a massive difference between there and here," she responded, "back there I was unobtainable… here I'm already taken, so I have to represent both of us."

He felt his cheeks heat up at that.

"Uh…" he didn't know how to respond.

"It also means that _you _also represent both of us," she declared before looking him over and then making small adjustments here and there until she nodded in acceptance.

"There, all done."

"Thanks Rin," he said, causing her to let out a small chuckle.

"Well, doing this tonight means we can do nothing but relax tomorrow.

He nodded in acceptance of that.

Dojima and Nanako would be going to pick up Nanako's other cousin at the train station, so they were going to stay away for the day to give the other boy a chance to settle first.

Then the next day would be the start of the new school year.

"Do you have any plans?" he asked her, causing her to smile.

"Of course I do," she declared, "what do you take me for?"

He simply stared at her.

Eventually her smile started to crack.

After all, he knew her, he was the first person she had dropped all her barriers around and told her insecurities to.

Saber had slowly come to learn of them herself; but that wasn't the same.

Shirou had seen her at her lowest point, seen her when she had lost everything and her confidence had shattered.

Saber had slowly come to learn _because _her dam had already broken and she had started to lower her guard around them.

"Stop it," she said, clealry uncomfortable at his stare, her cheeks starting to flush, "I really do have a plan for tomorrow."

Eventually she released a sigh.

"I hired out the Amagi-Inn hotsprings," she told him.

He blinked.

They were going to spend time at a hotspring?

Of course there was one question that rose in his head.

"Is it mixed bathing and do the owners know?"

Rin simply huffed.

"Do you really think I wouldn't make sure it was okay?" she asked him and he sighed.

"Did you?"

"Yes," she responded without delay, "there are some restrictions they've placed on it… but it's nothing unreasonable."

He nodded.

It was only natural that they'd place restrictions on mixed bathing in a hotspring.

"So what are the restrictions?" he asked.

"We have to wear swimwear and get changed before entering," she said, "they know it'll be both of us and Saber."

Shirou nodded.

That seemed perfectly reasonable to him at least.

"Any other plans?" he asked, wondering if that was all she had arranged for the day.

"You'll just have to find out tomorrow won't you?" she said and decided to just give her the benefit of the doubt on the matter.

"Okay," he accepted, "so… I guess we should go back to Saber now?"

She nodded.

Since Saber wouldn't be going to school with them, she had no reason to try on a uniform.

Instead she had simply remained in the living room watching a documentary about Africa.

It was almost adorable just how Saber's eyes seemed to light up whenever she saw a Lion come on screen.

"Yeah," Rin agreed before starting to remove her uniform, an action that Shirou also started to do himself.

After getting changed, they both made their way through the corridor and down the stairs before entering the living room itself.

The result was that Saber was curled up on the sofa, rocking softly as she stared intently at the TV as it showed a litter of lion cubs playing with each other.

"… I think Saber might want a Lion," Rin muttered to him.

He nodded in agreement.

He really hoped she never asked to get one.

He didn't want to have to tell her she couldn't get one after all.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

"So this is the Amagi-Inn?" Shirou muttered as he looked at the place.

It was very traditional and he could honestly say he was unsurprised at the thought of there being a hotspring within its walls.

Looking at the entrance he noticed a plaque that held some award.

He read it but it didn't ring any bells in his head; not that he expected it to, he didn't exactly pay any attention to the awards for Inns or anything like that.

"So it's won an award?" Saber spoke quietly and he nodded.

"Yeah, don't know how esteemed the reward is though," he admitted.

"It's actually reasonably well known," Rin answered, "so it actually acts a tourist spot for the area."

He nodded as he accepted her statement without issue.

"Now, let's go on in," she said and he nodded before opening the door and entering.

Seeing the reception desk, he walked over to it before ringing the bell at the desk.

It only took a couple of seconds for an employee to appear.

They looked rather young, probably a little younger than him, with long black hair and delicate features.

"Hello, we booked the hotsprings for the coming hour, name is Tohsaka," Rin said, causing the girl to blink while looking between them before checking something on the desk.

"Yes, it's not available just yet, another person booked it for this hour so you'll have to wait about ten minutes before your time starts," the girl said, her eyes still looking between them as a blush started to form on her cheeks.

"I expected as much, but we didn't want to be late," Rin admitted.

"I'll come and get you when your timeslot is open," the girl said, "feel free to take a seat until then."

And with that, the girl pointed to some of the seats in the area and Shriou nodded.

"Thank you," he said to the girl who offered a smile before excusing herself.

After taking a seat and being left in silence, Shirou decided to say something.

"I'm surprised they hired such a young receptionist," he wasn't going to complain, she wasn't rude or obviously incompetent so there wasn't any harm in hiring her given that.

The snort of amusement Rin gave made him blink.

"According to what I've read, she isn't an employee," Shirou had to blink at that, "she's the daughter of the current owners and the heir of the Inn."

Shirou blinked again.

"Oh, that makes sense," that piece of information didn't surprise him; if anything it just explained why she seemed to know what she was doing despite her age.

She had probably been raised to do it through instinct.

"Yeah… though it must be hard for her," Rin's statement made him look at her, "I mean, I know how hard it can be to try and live up to your familiy's legacy."

He immediately understood what she was saying.

Despite her talent and skill, she hadn't truly been raised as a Tohsaka, meaning she was having to try and live up to her family's standard without truly having the proper training.

"Indeed… having to fill a role decided for you at such a young age can prove… daunting," Saber also seemed to sympathise with the girl.

Shirou however couldn't really do that.

He may have taken Kiritusgu's ideals on as his own, but that was his decision.

As much as he knew the potential dangers of following those ideals, it was still a path he had decided he would follow, not one that was forced upon him as a child.

In the end, the only person who would consider him a failure if he failed to live up to those ideals was himself.

Hell, Rin actively wanted him to follow them less rigourously.

But in the end, he had faced the truth about his ideals and realised that he followed them because he thought they were beautiful.

They may have stemmed from Kiritsugu but he had taken them on not because he felt he had to, but because he thought they were worth following.

Eventually the heir of the Inn returned.

"The hotsprings are ready now," she said with a blush on her cheeks and Shirou found himself standing to make his way there, "e-enjoy your stay…"

Now it was time to relax.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

"Next stop, Yasoinaba."

Narukami Yu jerked slightly at the announcement.

He had nearly dozed off again.

It was bad enough that he had already done that earlier and had a strange dream about a man with a big nose talking and a beautiful woman with platinum grey hair, there was no telling what he'd dream up if he dozed off again.

Travelling by train was tiring… but at least he wasn't suffereing from jetlag, nor in a country that didn't even speak the same language he did so he would take what he could get.

Picking up the bag that was seated next to him, he started to stand, ready to get off at the next stop.

He had been told he was going to be staying with his uncle and cousin… he didn't know either and that made him nervous.

There was no telling what sort of people he'd be taken in by… still, so long as he did his best at school and stayed out of trouble then his uncle shouldn't be able to complain… right?

Who was he kidding, there was always the chance he could be walking into hell.

He partly wished he could have gone with his parents abroad, but in the end there would be a language barrier if he did that.

What he really wanted was for his parents to stop moving so he could settle down and have a normal school-life for a change.

It was nearly constant, every year snce he had entered middle-school his parents had been transferred to a different location, tearing him away from anyone he had known.

Sure some of them had kept in touch for a couple of months but in the end, there was a limit to how much people cared about the transfer kid who left after a year.

That was why he hadn't even bothered trying to make friends at his last school.

If he didn't have friends, then losing them couldn't hurt right?

Eventually he was pulled out of his thoughts as the train came to a stop at a small station and the doors opened.

Stepping off the train he look a deep breath and felt confusion.

The air smelled funny.

It took him a few seconds to realize what it was.

It was the lack of exhaust fumes and a strong scent closer to a park than a street.

Once the train had closed it's doors and left the station, he took in the atmosphere, there was a stillness to the place that felt alien to him, once the sound of the train had vanished he noticed that there weren't any engines he could hear.

He didn't know if he could get used to this.

Shaking his head clear, he made his way out of the station and looked at a desolate car park.

He had never seen such a meager assortment of cars.

"Hey over here!" a voice called out and he blinked before looking over and seeing someone walkin towards him.

It was a middle aged man with messy black hair and stubble clear on his chin. The man wore a gray shirt with a red tie and professional looking black trousers with a matching jacket slung over his shoulder.

Trailing just behind the man was a tiny girl with short brown hair tied into pigtails by pink ribbons. She was wearing a pink sweater and a black skirt and looked to be somewhat nervous.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo," the man started to say and he started to worry… was this man a predator? "Welcome to Inaba, I'm Dojima Ryotaro, your mother's younger brother… I guess I'll be looking after you while you're here."

That made him relax.

He may not have known his uncle but at least the man knew the exact relation between them.

"It's nice to meet you," he responded formally, hoping he didn't offend the man.

"Heh, you probably don't remember, but we've met," the man said and he felt a frown mar his face before the older man started speaking again, "I've changed your diapers before, you know."

He had to blink at that.

He hadn't even considered that particular scenario.

After saying that, the man moved the little girl so she was standing in front of him.

"This here's my daughter, come on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin," the man sounded honestly friendly… but that didn't necessarily indicate much.

He had known people from broken households whose parents put up a facade of kindness but once the doors were closed, they were fighting again.

"H-hello…" the tiny girl said, a blush clear on her face, "my name is Nanako…"

She spoke uncertainly but there was a hint of hopefulness in her tone as she spoke.

"It's nice to meet you Nanako-chan," he said in response, putting on a smile so as to not scare her.

If this was the real deal then perhaps he'd be able to get to know the girl; the fact that she was family would probably make her a more permanent contact for him than his so called 'friends' that had stopped caring about him.

"Heh, well then, let's get going," the man claiming to be Ryotaro said before he pointed over to a car parked alone, "my car's that one over there."

He nodded in acceptance before the man turned around and he started to follow him.

It was probably less than a minute later that he passed by a girl wearing a blue cap with a gold badge and carrying a matching satchel.

Her clothes were a bit different, with her wearing a sleeveless white button-up shirt, a black tie, long fingerless gloves that went halfway up her biceps and were a dark gray with red stripes red, a red choker, a black belt with an ornate buckle, striped leggings that alternated between black and white, black boots with gray patterns that went half way up her shin and a tartan skirt of all things.

"Hey," the girl said and he turned to face her, seeing her picking up a piece of paper and holding it out to him, "you dropped this."

"Uh… thank you," he responded as he took it from her, looking on it to see it was Dojima's address.

"Whatever," she responded dismissively, "all I did was pick it up."

He nodded.

She was clealry not someone who enjoyed chatting with strangers.

He could relate.

The girl returned to her walk and he pushed those thoughts out of his head.

"What's wrong?" the voice of his uncle cut in and he returned his attention to the man.

"Nothing," he answered as he made his way to the car.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psche XXX

Yu nearly nodded off again as he sat in the car.

"Dad… I need the bathroom," the little girl said and he perked up slightly.

"Can't it wait Nanako?" the man asked and the girl shook her head, causing the man to release a sigh, "all right… we'll stop off at the gas station and you can go there."

Yu wondered just how much longer the ride would be but was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by Dojima's voice.

"So… are you looking forward to starting a new school?" the older man asked and he let out a sigh.

"Not really… but I'm used to it," he responded.

"Well… Shirou and Rin are going to be starting there too, so I'm sure they'd be willing to help you if you need it," the man said and Yu felt his brow furrow.

"Who?" he hadn't heard anything about anyone else.

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't know about it would you," the man muttered before speaking up, "Shirou is my nephew on my late wife's side, he and his girlfriend recently moved here."

Yu had to blink at that.

"Moved here with his girlfriend?" he was honestly surprised to hear that.

"They have a responsible adult staying with them," his uncle said, "honestly they seem pretty responsible even without their chaperone."

Yu couldn't stop himself from wondering one thing.

"And what about their parents?"

He noticed Dojima grimace in response to that.

"They're both orphans… their chaperone was a friend of Shirou's adopted father," Dojima said with a little awkwardness.

"Why didn't he go to live with you then?" he was pretty sure that a child would at least go to a relative if they were orphaned.

"I don't know, just that the documents went through before the hospital staff could even check.

Hospital?

Okay, he was _not _going to touch that topic any further.

"Okay," he said, hoping to not pry any more.

"Yeah," his uncle said, "still, his girlfriend hired someone to investiage his history… found our connection so they moved over to get to know Nanako."

Well, at least he had an idea of what was going on.

"So why aren't they here?" he decided to ask.

"They decided that it'd be best to let you have a quiet night," his uncle responded with a relaxed smile, "travelling as long as you have is never easy."

He nodded.

It was nice that they considered how tired he'd be when he arrived.

"We're here," the driver said and Yu looked to see the gas station come into view as the car drove past another building.

It didn't take long for them to drive next to the pumps.

Exiting the car, Yu stretched, happy to get another opportunity to work his legs and get the blood pumping again.

"Nanako, can you go to the toilet by yourself?" Dojima-san asked his daughter just as the station attendent rushed over and immediately started to speak.

"It's in the back on your left, you know which way left is? It's the side you don't hold your chopsticks in."

"I know… geez," the little girl said as she made her way to the station at a pace that resembled a jog.

"Are you taking a trip?" the attendant asked his uncle.

"No, we just went to pick him up, he just moved here from the big city," his uncle responded.

"The city huh?" the attendant sounded interested and Yu wondered why they cared about that.

"Fill up my car while you're at it, regulars fine," his uncle said, earning a chirpy reply from the attendant who immediately moved to do their job, "good a time as any for a smoke…"

And with that, Dojima left the station and pulled out a cigarette, leaving him near the car alone.

"Are you in high school?" the attendant asked, "does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do I'm sure you'll get bored fast, you'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs… speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now."

Yu felt himself internally cringing at the part about 'hanging out with friends'.

But the attendant moved closer.

"Give it some thought why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student," the attendant said before holding her their hand to shake.

Yu took it, after all, it would be rude to reject it.

"Oh, I should be getting back to work."

The attendant said and Yu saw Nanako making her return.

Then his head started to feel light and the world started to spin.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, "did you get carsick? You don't look too good…"

He honestly didn't know.

"What's wrong?" the voice of Dojima spoke up and he looked to see the man had finished off his cigarette.

Well, he didn't want to worry his uncle this soon so…

"I'm just tired," he didn't know if it was just the train taking it's toll on him, but he wasn't going ot dwell on it for now.

"That's understandable, it must have been a long trip for you," Dojima-san said in response, "why not take a little walk, get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"It's fine," he said with a shake of his head, he just wanted to get to bed.

"All right then, let's go," and with that, the group returned to the car to finish their journey.

XXX Chapter End XXX

And that's all for now.

Shadow out.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone.

Finally... time to get on with the chapter.

XXX Chapter Start XXX

Shirou looked upon Yasogami High with a detached interest.

It wasn't his first time seeing the school; he and Rin had checked it out earlier in the week but this would be their first time actually entering it when it was open.

The building looked pretty standard for a high school, plenty of windows and two separate buildings for standard classes and practical classes.

"So, looking forward to starting the new year?" Rin asked and he let a frown cross his face.

"It looks like it's too well maintained," he said causing her to blink, "I don't think I'll be able to get my old nickname here."

Rin let out a snort of amusement as they passed through the front gate.

"Good. I wouldn't want my boyfriend to be known as the fake janitor here too," she declared and Shirou felt his face flush.

For her to call him her boyfriend so openly was… strange.

Nice but strange.

It was probably due to how often they had previously attempted to hide that relationship after the Grail War.

Hopefully he'd get used to it.

Walking through the front door, they proceeded to find the faculty office in order to get their classroom number and finally learn the name of their homeroom teacher.

Opening the door, they were greeted by the sight of several teachers going about their start of term business before one of the teachers noticed them and moved towards them.

Shirou had to blink at the teacher.

Why was she wearing an Egyptian headress?

"Hello, are you new here?" the teacher asked calmly.

"Yes, we're here to find out our class number and homeroom teacher," Rin responded easily.

"Of course, of course, can I get your names?" the teacher asked as she moved towards one of the desk.

"Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou."

Immediately the teacher froze before turning to face them with a forced smile.

"Ah, I see," she responded, her tone awkward and Shirou found himself growing suspicious, "then you're in classroom 3-b and I shall be your homeroom teacher."

Shirou felt suspicion welling up inside him at the fact she clearly already knew who they were.

"Oh? How do you know that when you haven't even checked?" Rin asked.

"My husband has had dealings with your family before Tohsaka-san," she responded, "so I know who you are from him."

Shirou frowned but looked at Rin who was simply blinking.

"Wait… you're married to the blacksmith?" she asked, earning a nod from the teacher.

"Yes, now, shouldn't you be making your way to class now?" the woman asked and Rin looked at him before nodding.

"Thank you…" Rin said.

"Sofue," the teacher responded, "I shall be seeing your soon Tohsaka-san, Emiya-san."

And with that, Rin led him out of the faculty room before frowning.

"I didn't know Deidara-san had a wife," Rin said.

"Deidara-san?" Shirou didn't know who she was talking about.

"He's a blacksmith who lives here, his family and my own have had some business connections for a long time," she responded and Shirou immediately realized what she was saying.

This blacksmith was a magus.

It also raised the question of exactly how much their new teacher knew about them.

Given the way she acted, he felt same to assume that she was at least aware of magi.

But hopefully nothing about that would impact them this year.

He doubted she'd end up like Kuzuki-sensei.

Actually…

He glanced around to make sure there was no-one to eavesdrop on them.

"Rin… what are the chances of Sofue-sensei or Deidara-san trying to kill us?" he asked.

Rin for her part almost choked trying to hold her laughter in.

"Emiya-kun… are you that paranoid already?" she asked, an amused grin plastered across her face.

He simply looked at her blankly.

"Sorry… but I don't want another Kuzuki-sensei incident," he stated bluntly.

Rin slowly calmed down before glancing around herself.

"Deidara-san is a craftsman of Mystic Codes, killing us would be damaging for his business in the long-run," she explained.

Shirou blinked before nodding.

That explained why the man was a blacksmith.

It also raised another question in his mind.

"Is it possible Sofue-sensei's headress and staff are mystic codes?" he asked, causing her to blink.

"It's possible… but whether she can use them isn't something I can say for certain," she admitted, "after all, most mystic codes requires magical energy to function, so unless she has open magic circuits then she shouldn't be capable of activating one."

Shirou nodded.

"Of course, it isn't guaranteed… Deidara-san does specialize in making them so he could have potentially crafted some that work for her without needing her to charge them herself," she continued.

Shirou simply nodded as they reached the classroom door.

"Well, I guess it's time to wait," she said and he nodded.

It wouldn't do to enter the classroom before their teacher introduced them.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Rin felt a sense of unease as she watched Sofue-sensei walking into the classroom, motioning for her and Shirou to follow.

She knew academically that she shouldn't have any reason to be worried but after the Grail War it was proving harder to trust most people.

She had been betrayed by Kirei; not that it surprised her but learning the sheer depths of his betrayal had been beyond anything she had considered.

Then there was the matter with Kuzuki-sensei nearly killing her and Shirou.

Oh and of course the most devastating betrayal of them all.

Archer.

She hadn't thought her servant would betray her, especially not for the sole purpose of killing Shirou.

Of course, Archer's convoluted attempt at committing suicide wasn't something she would have ever been able to anticipate given his reluctance to give her any information concerning himself.

But… those were the exceptions.

The current timeline Shirou, Saber, Fujimura-sensei and more had all shown themselves perfectly trustworthy.

Well, she could trust Shirou to do something stupid but it was never intended to hurt her.

It was just him suffering from survivors guilt and having a dying man impart a hero complex on top of that.

Honestly… he just had no sense that his own life held value when compared to the lives of others.

And that was the whole reason they were in Inaba in the first place.

"Quiet class," Sofue-sensei called out, causing the room to lower its volume substantially, "today we have two new students joining… please, introduce yourselves."

Rin stood forward and spoke.

"Hello, my name is Tohsaka Rin, please take care of me," she said, keeping her introduction formal before taking a step back.

Shirou immediately stepped forward and said his own introduction.

"Hello, my name is Emiya Shirou, it's nice to meet you," he said, his own tone polite and friendly.

"Wait! Did you say Emiya?!" one of the students cried out.

Rin felt her body freeze.

Did someone in this class actually know of Shirou's adopted father?

"As in, the same Emiya who never missed a bulls-eye at the national archery tournament two years ago?!"

Immediately Rin felt her body relax.

It was certainly a relief to hear that they knew Shirou for his own accomplishments.

"Ah… yeah…" Shirou responded, a grimace marring his face.

Rin almost chuckled.

Of course he'd be uncomfortable admitting that.

He was the only person she knew who actually tried to make their martial prowess appear inferior to what it actually was.

Whispers sounded through the class for all of two seconds before Sofue-sensei interrupted.

"Yes, well, we have a long year ahead of us so please, take your seats Tohsaka-san, Emiya-san," the teacher wearing the Nemes said calmly.

"Of course Sensei," Rin responded without issue, Shirou saying the same thing almost in sync with her before they both made their ways to empty seats in the classroom.

Rin found herself almost frowning at the fact that the only two seats available where so far apart but then again… they were just transfers so it wasn't even remotely surprising.

Putting her supplies into her desk, she prepared for the day to come.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

"Hello class~" Shirou blinked as the teachers changed over.

The woman who entered the class was clearly growing older and wore a shirt that was too tight and a lascivious grin that screamed of a predatory nature.

However the most telling part of all was the way almost every student had one of two reactions.

They were either groaning or outright grimacing.

"Well class, as most of you will already know, I am Kashiwagi-sensei and will be your teacher for this class~" she said, her tone slowly but surely reminding Shirou of Shinji.

Then the teacher's eyes landed on Rin.

Immediately they narrowed and a sneer almost formed on her lips.

"I see we have a new student in this class," her tone turned from its previous attempt at seduction to outright vitriol.

"Actually, we have two Kashiwagi-sensei," one of the boys corrected and her eyes roamed over the class until they landed on him.

Almost immediately her gaze changed.

From vitriolic to almost… _aroused_.

Shirou tried to keep the grimace from his face at that.

"Well, I suppose this year might not be too bad~" the teacher said, her tone returning to a clear attempt at seduction.

The moment her eyes left him he realized he didn't exactly feel safe around that woman.

There was just something so… _sleazy _about her.

He just hoped that the class wouldn't drag on for too long.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Shirou found himself struggling to keep his eye from twitching by the end of the class.

This new teacher had actively attempted to flirt with him.

Beyond that, there was also the fact that she was clearly singling out Rin for some reason.

Whatever had happened to the idea of professionalism in the classroom?

It was perfectly clear to him now why the class had had their initial reaction to the woman.

Glancing at Rin he could see she was struggling to keep a straight face as well; not that it surprised him, she was facing the brunt of the woman's aggression.

He silently wondered if the woman was picking on her out of jealousy.

After all, Rin was young and beautiful, while the teacher was clearly aging.

It didn't stop him from feeling annoyed at her attempts at pushing Rin around.

He felt a sense of relief flood through him as the bell rang and the teacher had to leave the classroom.

Honestly… was it even possible to get worse than that woman?

The new teacher walked in, his hair cut in a way that made him look significantly outdated, while he possessed buck-teeth jutting out the front of his mouth.

The groans that came from everyone else in the class made him flinch.

Why where they having an even worse reaction to this man than the previous teacher?

"Sit down and shuddap!" the man practically shouted, "now, I'm here to teach you little shits about philosophy… not that it'll stick in your thick skulls."

Shirou had to blink.

Did… did that teacher just outright insult the entire class in his opening statement?

"Now shut up and listen," the man commanded and Shirou stared as he proceeded to go onto a tirade about modern youths and how they lacked principles.

Shirou could feel his eye twitching.

It felt almost like the man was attacking him directly.

And he had literally had to fight himself because of his ideals during the Grail War.

But this was just a school.

It wasn't a battlefield.

He had to keep himself calm.

This teacher didn't know what sort of stuff he and Rin had already been through.

"And then there is the moral decay of your generation," the teacher blurted out, "girls with no modesty and boys drooling all over them!"

Shirou blinked.

"Honestly, you should all be kept away from each other until you're married!" the man continued to rant.

Shirou slowly bagan to realize exactly what the man was accusing them all of.

And immediately dismissed it.

Just because the man was right about the sorts of things he and Rin did at night didn't mean he had any right to attack everyone over a perceived slight like that.

Especially since they had an actual reason to do so outside of pleasure.

Rin needed all the extra magical energy she could get to support Saber and that was a pretty effective method of giving it to her.

So no matter what the man may have thought, their nightly activities were justified.

Of course, the fact that the man seemed to consider himself the single authority on what was 'moral' and not was just irritating.

Shirou knew he could be a bit stubborn when it came towards what he felt was right… but generally that only really revolved around saving people.

This man seemed to believe that anyone who didn't live the way he declared 'right' was worthless or immoral.

Continuing to listen to the man's sanctimonious tirades slowly became easier as the tirades died down and he actually started to focus on the coursework.

When that finally happened, he understood why the man had been hired.

For all of his preaching and focus on what he considered 'right', the man at least knew his stuff.

By the time the bell rang Shirou found himself unsure of what to think of the man.

He was clearly an asshole but he also knew how to teach.

He silently wondered what other types of teachers he would be exposed to in this school.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

As lunch came around, Shirou found himself releasing a breath of relief.

These teachers were hard to deal with.

At least at Homurahara the worst they had was Fuji-nee; he didn't count Kuzuki-sensei's attempts at murdering him against his abilities as a teacher given the situation.

Here… here there wasn't a single normal teacher.

"How are you finding it Shirou?" Rin's voice called from his side and he simply palmed his face.

"These teachers… they're…" he didn't know how to describe them.

He was sure Rin understood what he meant.

"Yeah…" her tone sounded almost exhausted, "at least the worst were Kashiwagi and Morooka."

He nodded in agreement.

For all that the other teachers may have had oddities, those two still stood out as the worst.

"Excuse me," another voice cut in and Shirou turned to see a girl who looked vaguely familiar.

It took him a few seconds to remember who she was.

"Ah… sorry, I forgot your name," he admitted, "you work at Junes don't you?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes, my name is Koniishi Saki," she introduced herself.

"Sorry about forgetting your name," he said.

"It's fine," she responded.

After a couple of seconds, she continued uncertainly.

"I didn't expect you to still be in school," she said.

Shirou simply shrugged.

"Yeah… we just moved here," he said.

"Sorry for prying… but you two have different family names…" she said.

"Yes, we're both orphans," Rin explained, "we recently discovered Shirou has living family in this town and since my family owned a summer home here we moved there."

Saki-san looked between them before asking something.

"Are you two… in a situation that Morooka-sensei wouldn't approve of?"

"What would he approve of?" Rin asked, her tone curt.

"Sorry, I just… it's strange for you to move together," she tried to defend her curiosity.

"I guess so," Shirou admitted, "but… well, me and Rin are in a pretty serious relationship."

He wasn't sure how Rin was going to respond to that statement from him.

Thankfully she just nodded.

He heard mumbling from throughout the classroom.

Blinking he glanced around and saw plenty of students whispering and glancing his and Rin's way.

"Sorry, I guess I just made you the centre of attention," Saki said, her expression an obvious frown.

"It's fine," Rin responded dismissively, "better for them to find out like this instead of by asking either of us out."

Saki nodded in understanding.

"And who were the other two with you?" the blonde haired girl asked.

"Oh, the older one was Saber, she's here as our chaperone," he explained, "the little girl is Nanako, she's the relative I'm here to get to know."

The girl nodded in understanding.

It was only natural they'd have a chaperone after all.

Of course, no-one needed to know that Saber was a part of the relationship herself.

"Well, I will leave you to your lunch," the girl said as she started to move away.

"See you around Saki-san," Shirou said.

"Goodbye for now Saki-san," Rin added her own farewell.

And with that, Shirou pulled out the bento he had prepared just that morning, an action that Rin copied as they started to eat.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The rest of the day passed by quickly for Shirou as the other teachers who had entered to teach them proved to each have their own quirks that made them surprisingly easy to remember.

It actually made him wonder if they intentionally did that just so students would have an easy time remembering them.

He quickly dismissed that thought.

There was no way they could keep it up so naturally if they were simply acting.

Part way through the last period Saki had left though he didn't know the reason for doing so.

Not that it involved him anyway.

Eventually the end of day bell rang and he released a sigh of relief as Sofue-sensei stood at the front of the classroom once again.

"Very good class," she said, "now, don't forget to do your homework on the great Pharaoh Ramses the second."

Shirou released a sigh as he put his books away, silently wondering what sort of servant the Pharaoh would have been.

Then the P.A system kicked in.

**Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice.**

Shirou frowned at that even as Rin moved over to his desk once again.

"I wonder what that's about," he said.

Before Rin could say anything they heard sirens blaring outside the building.

Shirou felt his blood run cold at that.

That couldn't be a coincidence.

Looking at Rin, he noticed her mood falling at the obvious implication.

Something had happened and she knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from getting involved.

"Shirou…" she said, her tone almost pleading with him to leave the matter alone.

"Sorry Rin… you know I can't," he responded.

She looked at him before releasing a tired sigh.

"Of course you can't," she relented.

She knew him well enough to realize there was nothing she could say that would stop him.

**Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents and guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers, head directly home. I repeat****…**

Shirou tuned out the announcement as it repeated.

Whatever had happened, it was serious enough that the police had been called.

But until he and Rin had the chance to examine the situation, there was no telling if magecraft was involved.

He blinked.

No… that wasn't actually that likely was it?

Magi weren't that common in most places; hell, in Fuyuki there had only really been him, Tohsaka and Shinji outside of the priest.

At least, until the Grail War anyway.

And with the Grail in Fuyuki there was far more reason for magi to be there than an out of the way little town like Inaba.

Meaning the chances were that whatever had happened was likely mundane in nature.

Probably a traffic accident if the location was anything to go by.

"Well… I guess we should head home," he said as he looked at Rin who nodded in response.

"Of course," she agreed as they started to make their way out of the room.

They started to make their way down the stairs before Shirou blinked at two of the students.

Two of the three were girls that wore extra clothing over their uniforms, with one wearing a green coat and the other a red blouse.

Honestly he doubted they would have gotten away with that in Fuyuki.

"I guess the dress-code isn't that strict here," Rin muttered to him and he nodded.

At least the boy wore the uniform properly even if he had gray hair.

Though upon a closer inspection of the boy's head, he noticed that the roots were also gray, meaning the boy had either just dyed it or it was actually his natural color.

Not that it really mattered.

"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed with Rin as they continued down.

Eventually they reached the gate before the girl with the red blouse was approached by a boy from outside, an interaction that didn't last long.

The way the boy practically ran away made Shirou cringe.

"Did you ever get that reaction?" he asked Rin.

She noticed her cheeks reddening before she looked away with a pout.

"O-only a couple of times," she responded defensively, "you know I had certain requirements for that sort of thing."

He chuckled.

Yeah… any boy that approached her in that manner would have had to have been a magus and that was just the base requirement.

Exactly why she ended up choosing him was beyond him but it was still the happiest he had been for a long time.

Putting the event out of his mind, he noticed the trio continuing on, their distance having closed a little.

"Ah… so you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious," the girl in green said to the gray haired boy, her voice carrying the distance between them.

Shirou blinked at that.

Apparently the gray haired boy was new to this town and had moved because of his parents jobs.

That sounded just like the situation he heard about Dojima's other nephew.

Looking at Rin he noted that she was looking at him as well.

"Think that's him?" he asked.

"Probably," she replied.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," the girl in green seemed to notice them now, "wait… did you say something about 'that being him'?"

The girl sounded suspicious now.

"Ah, sorry, we were just a bit close and overheard his situation," Shirou admitted as he rubbed the back of his head, "we were just wondering if he's Narukami Yu-san?"

The gray haired boy looked suspicous as he glanced them over before a look of comprehension started to cross his face.

The girl in green also looked uneasy.

"Wait… are you Shirou-san and Rin-san?" the boy asked and Shirou nodded.

"Yeah, I guess Dojima-san told you about us," he responded as the boy started to relax.

"Yeah, he mentioned you yesterday," the boy responded, clearly much more relaxed now as he held out his hand.

Shirou shook it easily before Rin copied him.

"So… uh… what's your relation?" the girl in green asked.

"We have the same cousin," he answered easily, "both came here for our own reasons."

"Okay, that makes sense," the girl in green accepted easily, "I'm Satonaka Chie and this is Amagi Yukiko, go on Yukiko, say hi."

Oh… Amagi…

"We've already met," Shirou admitted, earning a vigorous nod off the quiet girl.

"Really?" Satonaka looked surprised, "where did you meet?"

Shirou was about to deflect the question when he noticed a man wearing a suit rushing past a police line before collapsing to his knees and heaving on the grass.

"Sorry, I think there's something bigger going on right now," he said as he moved closer to cordoned off area.

"H-hey, wait?! What are you doing?" Satonaka sounded shocked by his action as he moved closer to the cordon.

Shirou heard shouting from the cordon as Dojima emerged, clearly angry at the other man.

Probably meant the guy was a detective.

Likely a rookie if he was throwing up from what he had seen.

"Dojima-san?" he said as he walked closer, "is something wrong?"

"Shirou… what are you doing here?" the man then looked at the others he had been with, "Yu? Why are you here too?"

"We were just walking back from school," Shirou responded, "met Narukami-san by chance."

Dojima released a sigh.

"I should have figured that might happen," the detective responded, "that damn principal… we told him not to let them through here…"

"Of course… there is a limit to how much the school can enforce the student's routes home," Rin spoke up, "still… whatever happened here to make the rookie there throw up?"

Dojima let out a mirthless chuckle.

"Hear that Adachi? Even a student can tell you're a rookie."

"S-sorry…" the younger man in a suit responded as he slogged back.

"Still… what happened here anyway?" Shirou asked.

"That doesn't concern you," the older man declared.

Shirou felt a hint of frustration rise in him.

He just wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help but of course they wouldn't let him.

"Anyway, you kids should be going home," the man continued.

"Of course Dojima-san," Rin replied before he could even attempt to get anything out of the man, "come on, we're going to go home now."

Shirou released a sigh as Rin started to drag him away.

"Wait… actually…" Dojima spoke up, clearly tired and uncertain, "we believe it was a murder."

Shirou's eyes widened.

"What?" he hadn't expected that.

Dojima nodded.

"I normally wouldn't ask this… but given what I've seen of you…" the man continued, "could you escort Yu and his friends home for now?"

Shirou frowned at the mans request before the reasoning for it started to trickle into his mind.

Dojima-san had already seen him spar with Saber.

"Of course Dojima-san," he responded, "we'll keep them safe."

"We?" the man raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah, Rin isn't a slouch herself," he said, causing her to flush.

"Thanks," the man continued.

"And Saber should have already picked up Nanako-chan," Rin informed the man, "so Nanako-chan will be safe."

"I don't doubt it," the man responded, "anyway, I've gotta get back to work, you lot stay safe."

Everyone nodded.

As the group proceeded along the road Shirou found his mind wandering towards the idea that a small town like this would be the location of a murder.

Especially so soon after his arrival.

"Uh… so who was that detective and why did he ask you to look after us?" Satonaka asked, a frown now marring her face.

"Dojima-san is my uncle," Shirou said.

"Same," Yu responded himself.

"And the reason he asked you to escort us is…" she pried.

"… he saw me and our current guardian sparring," he responded.

"Oh… so you're a martial artist?" the girl said, "I know a few moves myself!"

And then the girl started to make the sort of move that only existed in kung fu movies.

But without the skill.

"W-what are you doing?" Rin sounded strained as she looked at the girl's form, obviously finding it painful to watch.

As much as Rin wasn't a fighter, it didn't change the fact that she was still skilled in unarmed combat.

She just didn't compare to him or Saber due to her lack of focus on that specific area.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Satonaka asked, her face a mask of confusion.

"That… that form was _horrible_," Rin stated bluntly.

"H-hey! It wasn't _that _bad!" the short haired girl responded defensively.

Shirou simply stared in disbelief.

Did she honestly believe her attempts were in any way decent?

"You do realize that me and Rin are actually trained in martial arts right?" he asked, causing the girl to cringe.

"S-so?" she responded, clearly trying to come off as confident despite her clear insecurity.

"It's pretty obvious that you haven't," he said, earning a cringe from the girl, "if anything, it looks like you're trying to copy movies without any foundation."

"Copying them badly," Rin muttered.

He noticed the girl in green starting to close in on herself and released a sigh.

"Look… I understand that you want to learn martial arts," he said, "but you'd be better off actually finding someone to teach you instead of watching movies."

She looked away before her eyes brightened a little.

"How about you?" she asked and he blinked, "if you know what you're talking about then surely you should be able to teach me."

"Uh… I'm not a teacher… and I'm more of a swordsman and archer than anything else," he explained, "Rin would be better to teach you unarmed combat."

He looked at Rin and noticed her blinking as the girl looked at her.

"What? Do you expect me to waste my time training you when I have my own studies to worry about?" she asked the girl with a raised eyebrow.

Satonaka flinched.

"Oh come on, surely it'd be good on your job application to say you tutored someone?" the girl tried to argue.

"Where I intend to go doesn't care for things like that," Rin responded firmly.

Shirou definitely understood that.

Rin intended on eventually going to the Clock Tower to study magecraft… and they didn't care about mundane studies.

"Oh come on…" the girl moaned, "what sort of place doesn't care about that sort of stuff?"

"A posh place," Shirou said bluntly.

Satonaka cringed at that.

"A posh place?" she sounded dubious.

"Yes, it is the type of place that cares more about who you know than anything you can put on an application," Rin said.

Admittedly it wasn't _entirely _true.

It was more about what you knew than who you knew.

After all, even if you were a close friend of a magus, if you weren't one yourself then you would never get into the Clock Tower.

But that explanation should be enough to prevent any further enquiry.

The fact that Satonaka seemed to sink again made it clear she had decided to give up.

"Anyway… Dojima-san asked me to escort you home, so which way?" he asked the girl who blushed.

"Uh… well…" she sounded uncertain, "you don't have to go out of your way for that."

Shirou simply stared at her while Rin released a sigh.

"Satonaka-san… Shirou has a habit of helping people whenever possible," Rin stated bluntly.

"Wha?" the girl sounded surprised by that.

"You like to help people?" Yu asked and Shirou nodded.

"Yeah," he responded easily.

"Sounds like the sort of thing people would take advantage of," the gray haired boy said.

Rin snorted.

"Of course," he cringed at that, "though Shirou doesn't seem to care about that."

He saw Yu blink owlishly in response to that.

"What?" he asked, "I like helping people."

He noted the way Satonaka was now staring at him as well.

The Amagi girl however seemed to be focusing on everything outside of him and Rin.

"Anyway…" he said, "which way?"

Satonaka started to say something before sinking in defeat.

"… that way…"

Shirou nodded as he proceeded to escort the group to their homes.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Finally being escorted to the Dojima Residence, Yu found himself wondering just what sort of person this 'Saber' was.

It was certainly a strange name but then again he didn't even know where they were from so perhaps it wasn't unusual there?

Getting to spend time with Satonaka and Amagi had been… somewhat interesting.

The way their personalities contrasted made him wonder just how they had gotten so close in the first place.

Of course, he had also noted some contrast between Shirou and Rin too… yet they were apparently a couple.

But then again, what did he know about stuff like that?

"Saber, Nanako, we're here!" Shirou called out as he opened the door.

"You're back!" the voice of the young girl almost cried out as she practically rushed to the door and latched onto Shirou's leg.

"Yeah, sorry we're late," Shirou said as he placed a hand on her head, "your dad asked us to take some people home."

The little girl seemed to relax at that.

"Hello Shirou, Rin," an unfamiliar voice called out and Yu found himself looking at the owner.

And his breath caught in his throat.

A beautiful young woman with short blonde hair and features that looked like they belonged on a goddess was standing in the house.

"Hello Saber," Shirou responded without delay and Yu shook his head in the hopes of clearing his mind, "sorry we took so long."

"See Nanako-chan," the blonde spoke softly, "I told you that Shirou and Rin would be here."

The little girl nodded as she unlatched herself from the auburn haired boy.

"Sorry about being late Saber," Shirou spoke calmly before the woman shook her head.

"There was talk of an incident on the news," Saber responded, "I expected you to be late after seeing that."

Yu blinked.

Was there something he was missing?

He swallowed nervously as the thought invaded his mind that Shirou and Rin may have been responsible for the murder that had happened earlier.

Shirou's response was to release a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah… Dojima-san was there," the older boy responded, "he only told us that it was a murder."

Yu frowned.

"Anyway…" Shirou said after shaking his head, "Saber, this is Narukami Yu, Yu, this is Saber."

Yu found himself the subject of the girls stare.

Simply being looked at by her was enough to make him nervous.

Her stare was so severe that it made Dojima-san's look outright friendly.

"Greeting Narukami-san," Saber spoke, her stare not breaking as she bowed her head towards him.

"U-uh… greetings Saber-san," he responded, silently wondering why Shirou had left out her family name.

Shirou looked almost amused by the situation before shaking his head and looking at Nanako.

"Nanako-chan, I can't make dinner if you don't let me in," the older boy said and the girl blushed before rushing back inside.

Shirou and Rin immediately started to walk inside, an action that Yu decided to copy.

He blinked when Shirou immediately turned left and entered the kitchen of all places, while Rin, Nanako and Saber all moved to the main living area.

"Are you going to cook Shirou-san?" he asked, hoping the other boy didn't mind being called by his given name.

"Yeah," the other boy answered without hesitation, "feel free to take a seat, this'll probably take a while."

Yu blinked.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

It was Rin who answered.

"Because Saber is a black-hole for food," the dark haired girl sounded amused even as the blonde girl's face flushed.

He could only stare.

He didn't think he had ever seen a person blush without moving an inch before.

But Saber-san managed to do just that.

"An army marches on its stomach," Saber responded with a tone that held no room for argument.

"A-ah…" he didn't know what to say in response to that.

Of course, there was only so much a girl of her size could eat.

So obviously they were exaggerating the matter.

Shaking his head, he moved to take a seat at the kotatsu, silently wondering how good at cooking Shirou actually was.

Well… he'd find out soon.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

"So… what exactly did the news say about the incident?" Rin asked as she sat at the Kotatsu with Saber, Nanako and Yu.

"It was extremely limited," Saber responded, "simply saying that there was a death, the victim reported as the television announcer Mayumi Yamano, that the cause of death is unknown and that she was found hanging from a television antenna."

Rin listened, processing the information.

"It sounded scary," Nanako spoke up.

Honestly, if Nanako wasn't already aware of the news broadcast, she would have probably avoided speaking about it around her.

"Of course it is," she said in an attempt to comfort the girl.

Yes, there was much worse things out there.

Having come face to face with Heracles summoned into the Berserker Class there was no way she could ever think otherwise.

But Nanako was just a child ignorant of many of the horrors that lurked in the shadows of the world.

"You sound too interested in this," Narukami said and she looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"That sounds like an accusation Narukami-san," she pointed out, causing the boy to flinch.

"I…" he clearly didn't know how to respond.

Meaning he was actually suspicious of them.

Not that she could really blame him.

"Narukami-san," she started, "me, Saber and Shirou live together in a location that is separated from the rest of the town… we simply want to know what to watch out for."

The boy blinked before looking away with a blush.

Obviously he hadn't considered an excuse like that.

Of course, the truth was simply that she wanted to ensure no magecraft was involved.

But that would require more examination of both the crime-scene and the corpse.

And that wouldn't be quite so easy.

If they were still in Fuyuki then she could call on the Mages Associations contacts within the police department… but Inaba was too small to bother with.

Meaning they'd have to do a little breaking and entering if they wanted to examine the corpse.

But it wouldn't be worth it if it turned out it was just a regular murder so she would just have to wait until the police did their own examination.

She just hoped a cause of death was determined.

She really didn't want to get dragged into this when the whole point of moving was to get to know Nanako.

Shirou needed the time to find some happiness in his life.

A magical murder mystery would be the last thing that would help with that goal.

XXX Chapter Finish XXX

And that is all for today.

I will be perfectly blunt, I have decided to take some liberties with Ms Sofue since we don't really know anything about her in canon... so I decided to make her Deidara's wife and aware of the Supernatural world.

Anyway...

That's all for now.

Shadow Out.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone.

XXX Chapter Start XXX

Shirou couldn't stop himself from frowning as he walked down the street, Rin and Saber walking alongside him.

"Are you sure we should wait?" he asked the most experienced magus in the group.

"Shirou, right now the cause of death is unknown; it's possible that they'll identify something after a closer inspection," she told him but he felt himself remaining uneasy.

He could understand her decision; they were a pair of magi and a servant, they weren't needed for mundane investigations.

But he had come to learn that the Tohsaka and the Mages Association as a whole had contacts within government agencies specifically for the purpose of determining whether anything supernatural was involved so they could cover up any evidence of the supernatural.

But Inaba was too small a town for the association to pay any mind to.

Meaning the police force had no plants that they could use to find out the information without arousing suspicion.

The closest thing they had was Dojima and they would need to hypnotise him if they wanted to obtain any information from the man.

And Shirou really didn't want to hypnotise his uncle.

But in the end, if hypnotising Dojima was necessary then they would do it.

"I know… but it doesn't feel right doing this," he said, knowing Rin would already expect that sentiment from him.

She nodded.

"I know," she agreed, "but we can't investigate every single death that happens."

He nodded.

As much as he wanted to, he already knew that he couldn't save everyone and that sometimes, someone had to die so others could survive.

It didn't make it any easier for him.

Silence fell upon them as they continued down the street, eventually reaching the edge of the forest that their property was located within.

Hopefully a night of work by the police would allow them to identify the cause of death and set him at ease.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The following morning felt like it passed by slowly for Shirou.

Waking up had been relatively normal, however he had decided against his morning sparring with Saber in exchange for watching the News channel to see if any new information had come to light concerning the death.

Eventually they mentioned the case.

And nothing new concerning the cause of death.

It was still unknown.

That made him clench his fists.

If it was still unknown then that probably meant that determining the cause of death was proving difficult.

Meaning it was either natural causes that were hard to identify or a method that didn't leave a regular mark on the victim.

Aka, magecraft.

And from the fact that the body was found on top of an antenna on a roof, the likelihood of it being natural causes was slim to none.

If a cause of death hadn't been found by the end of the day he would have to get the body checked out by Rin.

She was better at diagnostics than he was after all.

"Shirou, are you all right?" Saber asked him and he took a deep breath.

"Yeah; it's just that it's looking more and more suspicious," he admitted, earning a nod from the ancient king.

"Am I correct in assuming that you will wish to have the body examined by Rin?" the blonde asked him and he nodded.

"If they can't determine a cause of death by the end of the day then I'm not going to accept no for an answer," he declared.

Saber simply nodded.

She knew there was no point in trying to persuade him otherwise.

Once he had set his mind on a course of action there were very few ways to make him change it and all of them were extreme.

"There won't be time to spar this morning," she said, clearly trying to steer the conversation to an easier subject.

"Sorry," he said, "I just needed to know if they had discovered anything."

"I understand," Saber said, "however, you would do well to not make a habit of this."

He nodded.

If he did make a habit of skipping training then he would quickly lose his body's conditioning and the skills he had inherited from Archer.

But a single day wouldn't be too damaging.

"I guess I'll go and make breakfast before Rin wakes up," he said, earning a nod off of Saber before he proceeded to make his way to the kitchen.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The walk to school was awkward as Shirou found himself constantly distracted by the thought of the death that had happened the previous day.

Rin for her part was following him in near silence.

There was no way she didn't know where his mind was going.

Rin just knew him too well to not anticipate it.

"Tonight," she said.

He nodded.

There was no need to say anything else.

After all, there was only one thing she could be talking about.

"Thank you Rin," he replied, causing her to release a sigh.

"And to think… this was supposed to be relaxing," she said with a wry smile.

"Yeah," he acknowledged.

To think that even a simple trip to meet his only remaining relative could potentially turn into a magical murder investigation.

Perhaps tragedy followed him?

After all, first was the fire, then there was the Grail War and now that he moved, a woman was murdered and thrown over an antennae.

Perhaps the people who turned on Archer had been right?

Maybe death followed him.

No.

He couldn't let himself think like that.

He was going to save everyone he could.

That was the dream he inherited from Kiritsugu.

He had already faced the flaws with that goal, had already faced the inevitable outcome of it.

But even with all of that he would not regret his decision to save people.

Eventually they reached the highschool and made their way through the crowd that was starting to congeal around the entrance as they made their way to their classroom.

Shirou just hoped the day went well.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

The day was practically hellish as class passed by so slowly he found himself wondering if there was some sort of bounded field on the classroom that altered his perception of time.

He pushed that thought out of his head. That was clearly just paranoia talking.

Not that paranoia was inherently bad… it was certainly useful when there was something like the Grail War occurring.

Though the fact the Grail War had ended meant that his paranoia was probably mostly unfounded.

At most it would probably only be a small group with no servants to worry about.

Saber would be more than capable of dealing with such things even with the strain she would inevitably cause on Rin.

Rin too had at least some combat ability; what with how she had managed to temporarily overwhelm Caster during the Grail War.

As for him… well, he had Noble Phantasms in his arsenal; that alone was enough to make him a legitimate danger to most people.

So if he got into a fight, he would probably be capable of taking care of himself.

Against a Servant he wouldn't stand a chance, same with a fighter being enhanced by a Servant.

But a normal magus would be a different matter entirely.

Had they attempted to fight him before his epiphany concerning the nature of his magecraft, then they would stand a much better chance against him than they did now.

But with his current understanding of his reality marble he wasn't simply projecting a blueprint of a blade… he was outright extracting the already formed blades from his marble.

The end result of that was that the blades were both significantly stronger and cost less magical energy to manifest.

Which meant that he wouldn't run out of magical energy that quickly even with his terrible reserves.

So it would take a lot to bring all three of them down.

Eventually the bell rang and he felt relief flood him at the school day ending.

It wouldn't be long before they could investigate the death now.

Releasing a breath, he stood from his seat and packed his things before looking over at Rin to see her doing the same.

The other students looked far less eager to get out; not that he could blame them; unlike himself and Rin they were relatively carefree and more focused on their groups of friends.

But as magi, he and Rin had other priorities.

Including making sure the town was actually safe for people to walk the streets.

Not that simply being indoors was a guarantee of safety.

Clearing his mind of those thoughts, he walked to the door, reaching it almost at the same time as Rin.

"So… what are we going to do now?" he asked her.

"I was thinking we should probably head to Junes and make sure we have enough food for dinner," she responded.

He nodded.

It was probably an honest response and he found himself unsurprised.

After all, there was only so much they could do during the day.

So they would just have to wait until the sun had set before they truly started on their investigation.

"Okay then," he replied.

As they left the room, he noticed Rin frown.

"What's wrong?"

She simply released a sigh.

"Sorry, it is simply that I'm not really getting the chance to work on my studies right now," she said and he blinked.

That wasn't really surprising.

They were regularly going to the Dojima residence to make sure Nanako was safe but that meant they didn't really get a lot of time after school to actually practise their magecraft in the basement.

"What do you want to do about it?" he asked her, causing her to release a sigh.

"I don't know," she admitted, "until this murder case is over, I don't think it would be a good idea to leave Nanako-chan alone for too long."

He nodded.

If it wasn't for the whole murder case then they could easily just leave earlier and spend the night working on their magecraft.

But now... now there was just too much danger leaving Nanako and Narukami alone.

"I guess… we'll just have to do the bare minimum to keep our skills up," he said.

He saw Rin cringe before nodding.

Unlike him, she was from a long line of magi, so the idea of not working on her magecraft probably felt like she was spitting on the graves of her predecessors.

"Sorry," he said as he glanced away from her.

"Eh?" Rin sounded surprised, "what are you apologising for?"

"For getting in the way of your studies because of my family issues," he said.

The way she looked at him with her right eye and her mouth going lazy made it clear what she thought.

"Shirou… stop being an idiot," she declared as they finally reached the exit of the school, "I was the one who brought up this family issue we're dealing with."

He glanced away.

"Y-yeah… but it's my family," he said.

"_Our _family," she declared, causing him to blink and stare at her, "they might not be related to me and Saber but you're our family, so your family is our family too."

He felt his jaw go slack.

He wanted to respond but wasn't sure what he could say.

She was making it very clear what her stance on the matter was after all.

"Besides, if that murder didn't happen then there wouldn't be an issue anyway," she said.

He released a sigh.

"Yeah… I guess you're right," he acknowledged.

"Of course I am," she responded with a smug smile, "when am I ever wrong?"

Shirou looked at her blankly.

"Where do you want me to start?" he asked, causing her to flinch.

"H-how about you don't," she said, causing him to smile.

"Do you have your money on you?" he asked.

"Of course," Rin replied, "we have to feed Saber, not having it on me would be stupid."

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Yu couldn't stop himself from releasing a sigh as he opened the door to the Dojima residence.

His day had proven at least somewhat eventful courtesy of Yosuke and Chie basically dragging him to the Junes food court for steak.

There were also naturally the rumours about the so-called 'midnight channel' that he'd heard.

But he doubted Shirou, Rin and Saber would be interested in nonsense like that.

The only reason he was going to bother with it was because there wasn't much else to do and he had promised to check it out with Yosuke and Chie.

Opening the door he found himself greeted by the smell of something being cooked.

Given the previous night, he found himself unsurprised by that.

He was a pretty good cook thanks to having to make his own meals regularly and not wanting to spend all of his money on takeouts.

The odd one every now and then was fine, so were the odd ready meals, but cooking from scratch meant he could just use whatever his parents dumped in the fridge.

It also meant he had pretty low standards for what counted as edible.

But tasting the food Shirou had cooked the previous night reminded him of the few times he had been taken to a restaurant for a birthday.

Of course, that was so rare that he wasn't sure if he was actually remembering the taste of restaurant food properly but he was sure that Shirou's cooking was probably good enough for at least a lower end restaurant.

Walking into the living room, he saw Nanako and Saber sitting at the dining table, with Nanako watching the TV intently.

Rin was sitting on the sofa, her posture relaxed as she rested a book on her knee and jotted down notes.

Shirou was the last person in the room and was practically gliding through the tiny kitchen, masterfully juggling the different dishes with an ease he couldn't match.

"Welcome back Narukami-san," Shirou said, his tone polite even as he kept his eyes on the kitchen, "you're home a little late."

Yu grit his teeth.

"I was with friends," he said. Sure Yosuke and Chie were closer to being acquaintances than friends but the thought of having his time dictated by Shirou irked him.

His parents didn't bother with it and even if they did, Dojima-san was his guardian, not them.

"That's a relief," Shirou responded and Yu blinked, "given the lack of information concerning the murder, walking around alone is dangerous."

Suddenly Yu felt like an ass.

He hadn't really thought about that, instead jumping to the conclusion that Shirou was trying to control his life.

"So they still haven't found a suspect?" he asked, trying to move the conversation away from what he had been doing.

"They still haven't even figured out the cause of death," Rin said, not even looking up from what she was doing, "let alone find a suspect."

Yu swallowed nervously at that.

"They've taken in some politician's wife for questioning," Shirou said, "something about an affair."

Yu almost snorted.

Of course an affair would be what they'd focus on when trying to identify a suspect.

"So it was a marital dispute," he muttered as he shook his head.

Of course it would be that.

"Who knows," Rin replied, "it's too obvious… surely she would have considered it if such a thing happened."

He froze.

Shaking his head he released a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he admitted, "still, it's probably safe to walk around, it's not like the killer will be going after random people."

He was met with silence.

Looking at Rin, he noted that her face looked tense, so did Saber's and when he looked over at him, he noticed that even Shirou looked melancholy.

"Let's hope so," Rin finally said.

All the while Nanako sat, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation going on around her.

"Uh… so where's Dojima-san?" he decided to try and change the subject before wincing as he remembered what Dojima-san worked as.

"Probably still in the process of interviewing potential witnesses and suspects," Shirou responded, "he'll probably be back late again."

Yu nodded.

"So… who did you spend time with today?" Rin asked.

The look on her face was sly but when she noticed him looking at her, she simply glanced at Nanako, letting him know that she was simply doing what he had tried to do.

Unlike him however, she had a better subject to focus on.

"A pair of classmates," he admitted.

"The Amagi girl and Satonaka-san by any chance?" she asked him, a hint of amusement clear in her tone.

"Actually… it was a boy named Yosuke and Satonaka tagged along for a free meal," he admitted.

"Is that all?" she responded, "and there I thought womanising might have run in the family."

He almost choked at that statement.

"Rin, me and Yu-san don't share any blood," Shirou pointed out and he felt a sense of relief at Shirou backing him up before realising something.

"Wait… Shirou-san is a womaniser?" he asked in surprise.

Rin smirked and hid her mouth behind her hand, Saber's face started to flush and Shirou…

"What are you talking about Rin?" sounded genuinely confused.

"Oh nothing," she dismissed his question with practised ease.

Yu however couldn't stop himself from wondering exactly what Rin was talking about.

But then again… Shirou and Rin were apparently in a pretty serious relationship and she didn't sound at all angry with him, more amused…

Meaning she was probably just teasing him for some of his old friends or something.

Yeah… that seemed like the most likely situation given what she had implied about him and the two girls he had walked home with the previous day.

He would definitely have to be careful around her. She was slowly but surely giving off the impression of someone who was more than happy to make a fool out of him.

Though at least she didn't seem malicious in her intent.

"... you just like messin with people don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, she does," Shirou responded.

She simply smiled before returning to her book.

"So… what's Rin-san doing anyway?" he decided to ask.

"Reading up on inheritance law," she replied, causing him to blink, "I have a lawyer working on a case for me but I want at least a passable foundation on the subject so I can actually understand what he's telling me."

He nodded.

That made sense.

Though the mere fact she was apparently having issues with inheritance was concerning.

"Is it anything big?" he asked.

"The man who was put in charge of my family's estate after my father died has caused a massive amount of damage to it," she declared, "I'm trying to salvage as much as I can."

He nodded.

The idea of losing most of your inheritance because of poor decisions on a legal guardians part was probably not pleasant.

"If you don't mind me asking, how much are we talking about you losing?"

"A little under five billion yen worth of assets and business income."

He stalled.

"Y-you're joking aren't you?" he muttered, causing her to look at him, her eyes lacking any sense of humour.

"There is a reason I'm trying to reclaim as much of it as I can," was all she said.

D-damn...

Tohsaka-san was legitimately rich.

Or at least, she _was _rich.

Though he doubted she was truly lacking in money even now.

"I guess your guardian didn't know what they were doing," he muttered.

"Kotomine knew _exactly _what he was doing," she said without hesitation, causing him to blink in surprise, "the man actively wanted to cause as much suffering as he could."

Yu did not know how to respond to that statement.

"Was he arrested?" he asked.

"No, one of the people he tried to kill killed him first," she replied evenly.

He was about to nod before realising exactly what she had just said.

"... remind me never to ask you about your history again," he said, earning a snort from the girl.

"Yeah… I guess you could say that all three of us have our issues," Shirou said and he glanced at Saber, seeing her own eyes fall.

Now Yu knew he would just have to avoid talking about their pasts.

Full stop.

There was only so much he could deal with after all.

It did however make him even more suspicious of them.

Shaking his head, he took a seat at the table closest to the kitchen.

Now it was perfectly clear to him why Shirou and Rin had moved to their own property, there was simply no room in Dojima-san's house for an extra two people.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Time passed by slowly for Shirou as he waited for Dojima to return.

Even cooking dinner for everyone had proven somewhat slow; after all he was used to cooking for Fuji-nee, so there was nothing particularly challenging about what he had been doing.

Which meant his mind was more than capable of focusing on the information about the murder.

He heard the door open and felt his tension rise.

"Oh! Dad's home!" Nanako said as he looked to the entrance.

"I'm back," Dojima sounded tired as he said that, "is everything okay?"

"Yes Dojima-san," Saber spoke up, her tone as calm and collected as normal, "we have even left some food for you."

Dojima-san let out a small chuckle.

"Thanks… but I had takeout before I got back," he responded, "not used to having someone cook for me anymore."

There was a melancholy he was obviously trying to hide but the man was clearly failing.

"If that is the case, then I shall finish it for you," Saber declared and Shirou had to resist the urge to laugh.

Of course Saber would finish it off.

"Go right ahead," Dojima sounded amused.

Then he looked at the sofa and released a sigh.

"Sorry Rin, but-" the man didn't even get the chance to finish what he was saying before she interrupted him.

"Of course Dojima-san," and without further prompting she gathered up the books and notes she had littered across the sofa and put them to the side before standing up and moving to sit beside Shirou.

"You didn't have to get up," Dojima-san said weakly.

"I know," she said easily, "but I needed to stretch my legs a little before they died on me."

Dojima chuckled in response.

"All right then," and with that, he made his way to the sofa and took a seat, "could one of you put the news on for me?"

Shirou nodded before picking up the remote and changing the channel.

The news report was just the same as before.

And then a new segment came on.

"_In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."_

Shirou found himself snapping to attention.

"An interview with the kid?" Dojima said with a sigh, "where the hell did they find her?"

Shirou could understand the sentiment.

He doubted most students would be comfortable giving an interview under normal circumstances… let alone when they had found a corpse.

The student shown on the TV had their face blurred out and a filter clearly placed over her voice but Shirou could sense a pang of familiarity with the visage.

"Hey Rin, isn't that Konishi-san?" he asked, causing Dojima to look at him.

"You know her?" the detective asked.

"She's in our class," Rin supplied.

Dojima just let out a tired sigh.

"I should have guessed," the man muttered while shaking his head.

Shirou watched the so-called 'interview' and quickly came to a simple conclusion.

It was bad TV.

Konishi's responses were stifled and awkward, making her appear even less informed than the news crews reporting on the incident, while the presenter was going out of their way to try and hook something worthwhile from her.

"I want to punch that presenter," he muttered after watching the awkward byplay going on for several minutes.

"If you did that, I'd let you off with a warning," Dojima said with a mirthless chuckle, "guy really needs to think about the people he's harassing."

Shirou nodded in agreement.

Dojima started to yawn and then Shirou felt it.

A small spike in magical energy coming from Rin's direction.

Looking at her, he saw her mutter something near silently before the energy was released.

"So exactly what is known about the incident, Dojima-san?" she asked, her tone curious.

Shirou had to stop himself from narrowing his eyes.

"Just that the corpse was found hanging from an antennae in the shopping district," the man responded, "the coroner can't even find anything wrong with the body… it's as if she just dropped dead; there aren't even any signs of a heart attack or anything like that."

The man was certainly being loose-lipped and Shirou found himself growing suspicious.

Had Rin just hypnotised Dojima-san without anyone noticing?

She looked at him, her expression grim.

It was looking more and more like magecraft was involved.

"How can a person just die like that?" Yu asked, a frown marring his face.

Shirou kept quiet.

He was certain there were _many _ways for a person to die suddenly.

But he wasn't planning on listing them off for the boy.

"We don't know," Dojima responded, "if it wasn't for where the body was found, we wouldn't even consider it a murder yet."

Shirou could understand that.

The detective soon shook his head.

"I probably said too much already," the man muttered, "you kids don't go spreading that around."

Shirou nodded without reservation, something both Rin and Saber did as well.

Yu looked unsure of whether to agree but nodded anyway.

Lastly there was Nanako, who simply nodded despite looking confused by everything.

"Anyway… Shirou, Rin, Saber-san… you three should probably head home now," the detective finally said.

"Of course Dojima-san," Rin acknowledged as she rose from her current seat, "we'll visit tomorrow as well. Try not to work yourself to death."

The man sighed in response.

"I'll try… but I don't get much of a choice with this job," the man said even as Shirou and Saber rose from their seats.

"Goodnight Nanako-chan, Dojima-san, Narukami-san," Shirou said as he stretched and started to mentally prepare himself for their next course of action.

"Goodnight Emiya-san, Tohsaka-san, Saber-san," the boy responded.

They all nodded in response as they made their way to the front door.

Once they had left the house, Shirou faced Rin.

"Did you hypnotise Dojima-san?" he asked.

"Only a little," she replied, "just made him more likely to answer us… nothing that can't be put down to tiredness."

Shirou nodded.

He may not have liked it but in the end it was only a minor use of it and Dojima-san didn't have his awareness suppressed.

"So… are you ready to visit the police station?" she asked, "we'll almost certainly need to hypnotise people properly there."

"I know," he admitted he may have preferred to not have to hypnotise anyone but it would be necessary without the proper credentials.

Rin nodded and they started on their way to the Police Station.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

"Here you go."

Shirou nodded to the hypnotised policeman as they were led to the autopsy room.

They would have to have the video feeds of them being escorted inside deleted but that would come after performing their own analysis of the corpse.

The door was soon closed and Shirou found himself looking at the room.

The cadaver had clearly been stored away while the mortician was gone, leaving the operating table clear.

"Okay, so we're just looking for the first filled unit?" Shirou asked.

"Yes," Rin replied.

The officer that had led them there had already confirmed that the presenter was the only person currently being stored in the precinct.

Walking over to the storage units, he quickly found the correct unit and opened it before unzipping the cadaver.

"Rin, do you need her moved to the operating table?" he asked.

"No, I can analyse her there," she replied as she moved to the other side of the drawer and started reciting her aria.

Time seemed to pass by at a snail's pace as he watched her working, seeing her face slowly but surely morphing into a frown before she started to bite her lip.

When she finally looked at him, her expression was grave.

"... I don't know what did this."

Shirou's throat went dry.

Rin couldn't figure out what had happened to the body?

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's… it's as if her brain just shut itself down for no reason," she declared, "all I can tell is that there isn't the usual damage to the brain from oxygen deprivation, meaning it shut down… it shut down and the signals that made the body function just stopped."

Shirou swallowed nervously at that.

"So there is someone capable of shutting down people's brains?" he asked.

"I don't know, there isn't any trace of magical energy that would indicate magecraft was involved," she said with a grimace, "this is… this just makes no sense."

Shirou nodded.

The idea of someone's brain just shutting down and taking their body with it was not something he had ever heard of.

Even when someone was shot in the head their brainstem still functioned to keep automatic functions going… but this… this was just unheard of.

"So… what can we do?" he asked.

"... I don't know," Rin admitted, "all we can do is wait and see if it happens again and hope we can find something from that."

Shirou nodded.

As much as he hated it, there was simply nothing they could do.

"I guess… all we can do is go home," Rin continued and he nodded.

He just hoped that this didn't happen again.

XXX Fate/Clouded Psyche XXX

Yu breathed heavily as he lay on his bedroom floor.

What had just happened?

Why had his hand gone through the Television screen?

Who was that girl who had appeared on the Midnight Channel?

What _was _the Midnight Channel?

He had so many questions.

He just hoped Chie and Yosuke believed him.

It was their fault he was in this position after all.

XXX Chapter End XXX

Anyway... that's all for today.

Shadow Out.


End file.
